Unless you’ve been hiding from Instagram this week, you’ve probably heard about Oreogate.
What began as a conversation about one child bringing Oreos to school has turned into a viral, ten-part Instagram saga involving upset children, defensive parents and the kind of school group chat drama that most of us would normally mute immediately.
Naturally, the internet has thoughts.
What is Oreogate?
Oreogate began with a viral series shared by Instagram creator @ashleighjamz.
Across Parts 1–10, she dramatically performs messages from a school parent group chat - and yes, it’s every bit as entertaining as it sounds.
The conversation reportedly began when one mum asked the other parents to agree on some “basic rules” about what could be packed in school lunchboxes.
The other parents initially assumed it was about allergies, which would have been completely understandable.
But no.
It was about Oreos.
One child was apparently coming home upset because another child had Oreos in her lunchbox and she wasn’t allowed to have them. Her mum wanted the other families to stop packing Oreos so the children’s lunches would be more consistent.
As you can imagine, the group chat did not remain calm.
Watch the original Oreogate series, Parts 1–10, on @ashleighjamz’s Instagram.
Why has Oreogate gone so viral?
Oreogate isn’t really just about two chocolate biscuits.
It has tapped into a much bigger conversation about:
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Who gets to decide what goes into a child’s lunchbox
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Food judgement and “good” versus “bad” foods
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The pressure parents feel to pack an impressive lunch every day
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Children comparing their food with their friends
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The absolute chaos of school parent group chats
Most parents understand the frustration of packing food that comes home completely untouched. We’re balancing nutrition, preferences, allergies, school rules, budgets, time and whether our children will actually eat what we send.
Sometimes the lunchbox contains homemade muffins, chopped fruit and yoghurt.
Sometimes it contains two Oreos.
Sometimes it comes home looking exactly as it did when it left.
Naturally, we had to join Oreogate
As a business built around lunchboxes - and run by parents - we couldn’t sit this one out.
Our first Oreogate reel took the very serious approach of packing two Oreos into a lunchbox with the caption:
“POV: The group chat has been a little quiet lately, so you pack two Oreos to spice it up.”
The response was huge.
Thousands of parents jumped into the comments to share their opinions, tag their school-parent friends and admit that they were now emotionally invested in a group chat belonging to people they had never met.
We followed it up with more Oreogate fun, because once the school group chat is active, you may as well give it something to talk about.
You can watch all our lunchbox reels and join the conversation over on @sinchies Instagram.
Our very controversial take
Here it is:
Pack for your child and let other parents pack for theirs.
Every family is different. Children have different nutritional needs, sensory preferences, allergies, appetites, cultural foods and household budgets.
One lunchbox doesn’t show a child’s entire diet - and two Oreos don’t cancel out everything else they eat.
Teaching children that different families make different choices feels far more useful than expecting every lunchbox in the class to look the same.
Of course, genuine allergy and school-safety rules should always be respected. But outside of those requirements, lunchbox decisions belong with each child’s parent or carer.
Let’s leave the judgement out of the lunchbox
Parents already have enough to worry about without wondering whether the school group chat is analysing their choice of biscuit.
Pack the sandwich.
Pack the fruit.
Pack the yoghurt.
Pack the leftovers they specifically requested and will inexplicably refuse to touch by lunchtime.
And yes, if it works for your family, pack the Oreos.
At Sinchies, we’re all about making lunch boxes easier, saving money and reducing unnecessary waste - not judging what another parent chooses to feed their child.
Because most of us are simply trying to send our kids to school with something they’ll actually eat.
So, where do you stand on Oreogate? Team Oreo, team no Oreo or team please-don’t-add-me-to-another-group-chat?
Join the debate on our Instagram or explore our range of reusable lunchbox products.
Save money, reduce waste, and keep it fun!
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