Several things I do:

1. When I have a lengthy flight I try to plan my schedule around eating a suitable meal at the airport not terribly long before takeoff. That minimizes the need for food aboard the plane.

2. If there's no time to sit down for food at the airport, I'll get something to go. At many airports I can rely on finding something decent to carry on-- a tray of Chinese food, a box or two of sushi rolls, a sub sandwich, etc. -- and it usually takes only 5 minutes.

3. If I need extra food for a long flight, or I'm concerned that there will be nothing suitable to buy, I'll throw a few energy bars into my bag. I'm partial to the Luna brand. I usually have a stash of them at home as I carry them when I'm hiking.

4. Energy bars do get boring after a while, so if I'm looking to go hard-core self sufficient I'll bring salami, crackers or bread, and cheese.

I would say if you're considering having to bring food on a flight long enough to need it, then you haven't been studying nor applying Flyertalk techniques correctly.

+1 to all of the above! And it also applies in large to the food served by the airlines.

I agree with chgoeditor, the food options are less than desirable. I got out of the habit but when our son was younger, I would pack an assortment of the following -

cold, sliced cooked chicken
hard cheeses, sliced
assorted nuts
crackers
sandwiches
carrot sticks
sliced apples
granola bars

Any creative ideas on how to keep foods cold for extended times when taking it through Security?

Freeze grapes, put them in a plastic bag. They will keep food cold, and then can be eaten as a snack.
I think that if one is used to eating crap in real life, then it isn't an issue. But for those who try and avoid crap, it may be an issue.

In UK airports there is inevitably a Boots airside , so you get Boots Meal deals just before the gate.

Problem solved.

I usually agree with the above, but sometimes the timing just doesn't work out. I recently flew ORD-IAD-MUC with the ORD flight departing at about noon, followed by a connection to a 4:30ish departure out of IAD.

I wasn't really hungry yet at Noon (late breakfast), but knew I'd be starved if I didn't eat before the IAD-MUC flight and even though I had the time at IAD I didn't want to eat that soon before my INTL airline Dinner, which I knew would begin to hit my tray by about 5:30. The best option was to buy a sandwich at ORD and to eat it when we had our drink service.

Oh, please. The food the airlines sell/provide in first/businss often "smells".

Your points are well made. Being in flyover country I don't focus on long flights. My earlier post had some suggestions. But, why is a meal, or food, so important for a five hour period? This is probably a more cultural than airline question.

Cheers,
Pogopossum

* flights may be delayed
* people may have health reasons for requiring food
* it's recommended to eat little and often
* five hours can easily become six/seven/eight or more when factoring in issues at either end
* food on landing is often not as easy to find or not practical with luggage

I honestly cannot tell if you really cannot understand that your situation is not the norm, or if you're just teasing, but using milepig's example I can't see any reason not to understand the reasons.

But again, based on what some posters have listed on FT as their usual food choices, they aren't very particular and will happily choose a lot of the crap served at US airports. Some of us choose not to do so.

Yes, a serious question, but about flights under 5 hours. I think I had a caveat about international flights - which usually have some kind of meal service anyway? I'm not an intl traveler

Cheers,
Pogopossum

Well, most of us who aren't American still fly requently 'internationally', meaning any flight which crosses national boundaries, and often shorter than your 'domestic' flights. So really there isn't much difference if I fly CDG-MUC compared to your examples.

And even though most flights still serve something, I still bring food. There is no telling what will happen before/during/after the flight which may result in a delay. I'm often going places where there is no easy access to room service, nearby dining, or grocery stores. I'd rather ensure that I have something to eat just in case.

The first time you find yourself in an irregular ops situation, ill-prepared, you may change your tune.

But until then, it really can't be that difficult to imagine that not every flight/day goes as planned, can it? Or that many people choose not to eat the mostly unhealthy food found at US airports?

I'm teasing a bit... As I said, I have little experience with 4+ hour flights. And it comes from my experience of having a less than three hour flight where people bring on board bags of KFC or Burger King or whatever the local airport fast food is and then eat it before the plan even leaves the gate (even in first class!)

I understand special diet requirements and how the airlines can barely meet them. I don't mean to ignore or demean those who must follow special diets.

My concern, as I think I said, was more about the fact that people seem to think they cannot deal with a four hour (even eight hour) trip without eating. Yes, we get grumpy, and certainly unhappy, but, given no medical considerations, we will survive.

This is off from what the OP asked, and I apologize for taking it in this direction. It is, obviously, a hot button for me.

Cheers,
Pogopossum

ah, now I see where you are coming from.

I don't believe the FTers who are posting fall into your "I'm eating because I'm bored" or "I'm eating because I can't deal with a 3 hour flight" category.

I believe most are posting are like me, where I'm going to bring on a meal if my flight time duration covers a time I normally eat.