What food can I bring to the airport?

I'm picking someone up, and then waiting at the airport for 2 hours to pick another person up. So I'm not getting on a place or anything, but can I have pasta and yogurt in reusable containers in? I may or may not get a pass to go to the boarding areas and going through security, but if I do will I be good?

As long as you don't go through security, you can bring whatever food you want. If you go through security then you have to have food that's in a commercial packaging like dried fruits, granola bars. No fresh fruits because they're afraid that you might hand it off to someone who's traveling to another county. If the seeds get planted then the new fruit can wipe out that country's agriculture.

If you somehow get a pass to go through security to the arrivals/departures area then you have to comply with the security rules. You mostly can't have liquids or gels except for small quantities. Yogurt counts as a liquid. Pasta is OK as long as it isn't mostly sauce.

The answer from Donnie Porko would be correct if you were traveling to another country as the parts about no fresh fruit, etc are import restrictions. Airport security doesn't care.

I usually make ham sandwiches and use butter instead of mayonnaise. Peanut butter smells too much.

Troll of the day

The odds of you getting a gate pass are pretty low unless the person you are meeting is handicapped and needs your assistance (and even then, they have people for that).
If you are in the US, the rules on what you can bring through security are on tsa.gov (and they are similar in many other countries).
Since you probably won't be going through security, you can bring whatever you can manage to balance on your lap while hanging out at baggage claim. Or, unless it is a very small airport without any pre-security restaurants, you can just get something there.

There are always places to eat before the security check. You can also bring food if you want to.

Why are you getting to the airport 2 hours early just to hang out in the arrivals area? Instead, you can use that time to grab something to eat before you get to the airport.

You're right, if you're there just to meet someone you will not be permitted to go to the gate. However, most airports have a Food Court style concession area. You can eat the food you brought with you there.

Figuring you are in the US. Unless you are the parent of an unaccompanied minor, or the person arriving needs special assistance and you have the legal responsibility for them. You are not going to get a Gate Pass.

This means you will be basically stuck in the ticketing area Pre-Security. The good news is that it won't matter what you have. The bad news is that there's nothing to really do so it will be a very long 2 hours unless you happen to be at a major airport that has limited restaurants or shops pre-security.

If by some miracle you get a Gate Pass, If the pasta has any liquid in it you will not get that or the yogurt past security unless both can fit inside of a quart sized zip top bag and are in containers no bigger than 3.4oz (100ml) each.

I would personally not worry about getting their two hours before, eat before you go to not to have to spend as much time there.

You probably will not get a gate pass. Those are usually for people meeting children or elderly traveling alone, or for family of military. If you do manage to get a gate pass, then you will have to pass through security and all security rules apply to you, whether you're getting on a plane or not. Liquids and gels have to be in containers that are 3.4oz or smaller, and will have to be in a clear 1qt baggie as you go through security. Your pasta shouldn't be an issue unless is really saucy; the yogurt counts as a liquid/gel so you have to watch container size on that.

It is more likely that you'll be waiting at arrivals/baggage claim/ground transportation. And you don't pass through security for that, so you can take whatever you like with you.

Contrary to what you might think, there are no restrictions on bringing food to an airport, trying to take it through to the secure area is likely to give greater scrutiny, but as mentioned by others gate passes are not just given out to anyone and most people are met at the arrivals lounge.