School-provided lunches provide equitable access to nutritious foods for all students during a school day and benefits include improvements in: diet quality, food security, wellbeing, appreciation for healthy food, behaviour and engagement at school(1,2,3), while reducing financial hardship for families4. School lunch provision in Australia is increasing1 yet due to the significant cost, the program needs to be well-designed, scalable and sustainable to meet the needs of schools, families, communities and students. Drawing on consumer input prior to design, is essential to address the needs and interests of the students, families and communities. This study aimed to determine student preferences for school lunch programs in a secondary school located in regional Victoria. Students in years 7-11 at a Secondary College in regional Victoria were invited to complete a brief (<10 min) online survey (October 2024 to March 2025). Questions asked about preferred lunch delivery (grab n go, sit down), desired dining settings, preferred timing for lunches, preferences for hot or cold lunches, and preferred lunches. Frequencies are reported for categorical data, means and SD are reported for time (minutes), Chi square compared differences for categorial data, and an independent t-tests were used to compare means. Ninety students completed the survey (52% male, 39% female, 4% gender diverse), across all year levels (39% year 7, 18% year 8, 22% year 9, 12% year 10, 9% year 11). ‘Grab and go’ lunches were preferred (53%) over sit down lunches (9%), with 34% preferencing a combination of both. There was no association between gender and lunch delivery preference (Chi sq P=0.695). Eating outdoors was most preferred (outside in the school grounds 57%, outside on picnic tables 54%, outside on the go 52%), followed by indoor options (café 30%, dining room 22% or classroom 21%). Mean requested time for eating was 19.6 (SD 12.9) minutes, with no difference between genders. Most preferred a mix of hot and cold lunches (62%, followed by 31% preferring hot lunches and 7% preferring cold lunches). A higher proportion of males preferred hot lunches (45%) compared with females (11%), and more females than males preferred a mix of hot and cold lunches (74%, vs 55%), Chi sq P<0.001. When asked to state what they would like to eat for lunch, 75 students listed one or more specific foods. The most preferred foods were pasta, wraps/sandwiches/rolls, hot chips/wedges, and pizza. For location preferences, students could choose multiple options. These findings offer insights into students’ preferences for school lunch provision, but may be influenced by pre-conceived ideas of school lunches and season (spring/summer). The findings can be used to design school lunch programs that consider the needs and preferences of the consumers. Future programs should consider co-design approach to lunch programs.