I've never had airport security confiscate food, only beverages. Unless you're packing soup for lunch, I guess? Or flying somewhere with specific customs prohibitions that for whatever reason does it at the origin instead of the destination, like flights too/from Hawaii maybe?

But I've never had, like, a sandwich taken from me.

"You're totally allowed to bring food! Just not anything to drink with it, not even water." Ok, that's great for a long wait...

We didn’t actually pack a lunch, but was suggesting that getting through the gate took a really long time.