The food carrier has a central vertical support panel with a handle and a pair of trays or receptacles attached to the central support panel, and an optional auxiliary tray with a slotted bottom can be fitted onto the central support panel. A folded side-wall structure can be unfolded to start the formation of the trays, and a folded bottom panel or two-panel structure unfolds and fits snugly into the side-wall structure to stabilize the side-wall and hold the carrier erect while it is resting on a flat surface, thus to make unfolding and loading the carrier quicker and easier. Beverage cup-holding holes or flat solid bottoms with pop-up side barriers can be used to support beverage or other containers in the trays or receptacles. The carriers can be made from a single sheet and advertising printed entirely on one side to facilitate efficient fabrication at a moderate cost.