The Last Meal Amelia Earhart Ate On Her Final Flight

Amelia Earhart made history as the first woman to attempt a solo flight around the world. Earhart was flying across the Pacific Ocean alongside her navigator, Fred Noonan, when she disappeared; Earhart and her plane were never found. She packed only necessary items for her journey, and as when planning to eat well during any lengthy travel adventure, she had a number of snacks with her, including hard-boiled eggs, tomato juice, and raisins — lightweight items that offered adequate nutrition.

Earhart made no mistake about the types of food she packed. She embarked on the trip in 1937 with two things in mind for her menu: keep her awareness and mind strong, and keep the aircraft's weight at a safe number. She packed important foods, but only what she absolutely had to so as not to create a weight problem. "A pilot whose land plane falls into the Atlantic is not consoled by caviar sandwiches," Earhart once said to her husband, according to NPR.

Amelia Earhart's snacks all had to have three things in common: nutrition, of course — the snacks had to keep her full and alert — but they also had to weigh as little as possible and be easy to eat. In addition to the raisins and eggs, Earhart also packed some classic chocolate bars, likely for a little sugar boost or just as a moment of indulgence. 

Tomato juice was a big one for Earhart, too, because it could be eaten cold or hot. "Tomato juice is my favorite 'working' beverage, and food too," Earhart said in a radio interview before her trip, according to NPR. "In colder weather, it may be heated and kept hot in a thermos." The last meal she ate while flying would have been one of these simple snacks.

Earhart's snacks would be light when she traveled, because she planned to eat bigger, more filling dinners when she landed in various parts of the world. However, one of the last times she was seen, Earhart reportedly looked exhausted and emaciated, according to "The Sound of Wings," a biography about Earhart's journey.