It sounds like a simple question — when should I take lunch? But if you've been doing this job for more than a week, you know it's anything but simple. Take it too early and you're starving by 2pm. Take it too late and you've already burned through your energy. Take it at the wrong point in your run and you've just added 20 minutes of backtracking. Here's what works.
Your Legal Entitlements
First things first — you're entitled to a break. Under most Australian awards, if you work more than 5 hours you must take an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes. According to Fair Work Australia, your employer can't require you to skip your break, and you shouldn't voluntarily skip it either. It's there for a reason.
That said, most courier companies give you flexibility on when you take it. This is where strategy comes in.
The Best Timing Strategies
The Two-Thirds Rule
Most experienced drivers take their break about two-thirds through their delivery run. If you've got 120 stops, that's around stop 80. By this point you've built good momentum, cleared the bulk of your route, and you know roughly what time you'll finish. The remaining 40 stops after lunch feel manageable and you push through without the afternoon wall hitting you hard.
Between Delivery and Pickup Runs
If your day includes a pickup run after deliveries, the natural break point is between the two. You've finished your deliveries, your van is empty, and you need to transition mentally from delivery mode to pickup mode. This is the perfect time to eat, reset, and check your pickup manifest.
This is what many experienced drivers swear by — you finish deliveries with momentum, have a proper sit-down lunch without watching the clock, and then start pickups fresh. The pickup run is usually less stops but heavier freight, so having fuel in the tank matters.
The Geographic Break
Look at your route and find a natural midpoint where there's food nearby. There's no point taking lunch in an industrial estate with nothing around. Some drivers plan their break around a specific park, servo, or shopping centre that's on their route. Over time you build up a mental map of good lunch spots across your delivery area.
Where to Actually Eat
Parks and reserves: Best option on a nice day. Fresh air, a bench, and a break from the van. Most suburban areas have a park within a few minutes of anywhere on your route.
Shopping centre car parks: Air conditioning if you go inside, bathroom access, and food options. Just don't park the van somewhere it'll get a ticket.
Service stations: Predictable, always open, and they have coffee. Not glamorous, but reliable.
Your van: Sometimes the best option, honestly. Air-con running, seat reclined, podcast on. Just make sure you're parked somewhere legal and shaded if it's hot.
Pro tip: Pack your lunch. Buying food every day adds up to $50–$80 a week. That's $2,600–$4,000 a year. A packed lunch with decent food will also give you more consistent energy than a pie and an energy drink from the servo.