Packing a lunch...ice pack or not?

[littlejimmy]

i probably will get hammered for this, but here goes. we all survived without ice packs. I ate ham or turkey sandwiches every single day between 2nd and 12th grade. some days the sandwiches would sit from 6 am to 1 pm and never got sick from it.

and all my friends did it too. I think we are raising a nation of...well, lets just say, unstrong children.

btw, my mom made me recycle the brown paper bag too. I folded it up and put it in my back pocket. by Friday that bag was toast.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I think it will be fine.

 

[Frantasmic]

Freeze grapes. Place frozen grapes baggie in lunch. Grapes thaw by lunch. Food stays cold. Kid eats lunch. Kid has disposable lunch

 

[Minnesota!]

we do not use ice packs.

Make the lunch, toss entire container, with food, into freezer for 30 minutes, throw in back pack.

Stays cold enough.

FWIW, I am in the "did it my entire K - 12 without an ice pack, no need to start now" camp.

 

[Poohforyou]

My dd is a sophomore and has taken her lunch to school every day since she started school. She's always had an ice pack. She uses a Vera Bradley type lunch purse that's insulated and I still would chance not having an ice pack.

How about freezing a juice pouch and having it be ice pack and drink?

 

[Poohforyou]

i probably will get hammered for this, but here goes. we all survived without ice packs. I ate ham or turkey sandwiches every single day between 2nd and 12th grade. some days the sandwiches would sit from 6 am to 1 pm and never got sick from it.

and all my friends did it too. I think we are raising a nation of...well, lets just say, unstrong children.

btw, my mom made me recycle the brown paper bag too. I folded it up and put it in my back pocket. by Friday that bag was toast.

I'm 52 and my mom insisted on us using an ice pack when we took lunch. My grandmother was a dietician so she was educated on how food spoils. Sure you're probably ok but why risk things you don't have to.

 

[marcyinPA]

My 15 yo packs lunch every day in a brown paper bag- all disposable. He brings London broil or turkey, no condiments. He never uses an ice pack. If he did, I'd never see it again. He has never gotten sick. Been brown bagging since grade 6.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I never had an ice pack in my lunch and my kids have never had one either. Not one incident of food poisoning ever.

Same here. I never put an ice pack in my DS lunch and he's fine. Imagine, i even give him yogurt! And he never gets sick.

 

[MamaLema]

I've never used ice packs for my kids' lunches. They have never gotten sick.
For them, it's a preference. They don't want to eat a cold lunch.

 

[disney1990]

Unless you live someplace where it is really hot, it should be fine. We always took sandwiches (usually bologna) to school and never had ice packs.

 

[cluvsdisney]

You could always freeze the sandwich so it's just about defrosted by lunch time. In order to not waste bread, I'll sometime make a few sandwiches and throw them in the freezer...they are defrosted by lunch time and taste fine.

 

[LSmith]

.

 

[disney1990]

Sure. I was also raised without penicillin, seat belts, car seats or helmets and we all survived. Bunch a pansies these days!

Penicillin discover in 1928 - you really are old!

 

[DisneyNutMary]

My DS went from pre-k to 12th grade taking lunch to school and summer camp every day. He was one to lose things so he preferred a totally disposable lunch, down to disposable spoons for his pudding cups. Even when the storage of lunch was sketchy, he never got sick. Now college on the other hand, this past January he was up at school and ordered out with friends. They had pasta, chicken, etc. he had a burger. The food arrived hot and they ate right away. By the next afternoon, he hadn't eaten again (he's a light eater) he was sick as a dog. I had him go to the med center, who sent him to the er. Two days later we found out he had salmonella poisoning. Goes to show you that food poisoning can happen even when you thought food was handled properly.

 

[mnrose]

My DD's lunch bag (looks more like a purse) came with a ice pack that I put include with her lunch. Her lunch includes a carton of milk, which is frankly more appetizing if kept cold. So, to me, it's not so much a safety issue (although its definitely SAFER cold), but a way for it to be most tasty and delicious.

Her sandwiches ARE made with mayo, which is another reason to keep it cold. It's not a big deal to me, and if for some reason, we forget to freeze the ice pack, I send a sandwich anyway, but throw in a juice, rather than milk. It's easier for her to drink a room temperature bottle of juice than room temperature milk. Yuck.

 

[minkydog]

Ok.....

If you pack your kid a lunch with a meat sandwich, ie turkey, ham, etc. Do you add an ice pack to keep it cold or not? My son insists that his sandwich will be fine sitting in his locker in a papaer bag until lunch. I say it will spoil without refrigeration. He doesn't want to carry a lunch bag around with him at recess so he insists on a paper bag lunch. He cannot eat peanut butter and needs a meat sandwich of some sort.

I like to put an ice pack in my lunch bag, but growing up that was never done. We ate cheese, bologna, meat, tuna fish, and chicken salad sandwiches. In the course of 25 years, none of us ever got food poisoning.

 

[vetrik]

I probably wouldn't send one if my only concern was a sandwich with deli meat. DD always wants either chicken salad or tuna (both with mayo) and likes to pack a yogurt, so I do send one. Her lunchbox came with one, and she always brings it home, so I don't see the harm.

 

[aprilchem]

I pack two ice packs in each of my children's lunch boxes each day, and I'm very particular about the ice packs I send. The icepacks from my local big-box store only stay cold for about 4 hours, on average (yes, I measured), but I found some on Amazon that will stay cold from 5 am (when I pack their lunch) until 3:00 pm (when they get off the bus).

To me, the "I didn't have ice packs and I didn't get sick" rationale just doesn't fly - we do not eat a lot of preservative-filled food at my house, so I want to ensure the temperature in their lunch box doesn't get warm enough for bacteria to reproduce. On the rare occasion when I can't include ice packs (like when they go on a field trip and want the lunches to be disposable) I only pack nut butters or non-perishable food.

 

[kidshop]

I pack two ice packs in each of my children's lunch boxes each day, and I'm very particular about the ice packs I send. The icepacks from my local big-box store only stay cold for about 4 hours, on average (yes, I measured), but I found some on Amazon that will stay cold from 5 am (when I pack their lunch) until 3:00 pm (when they get off the bus).

To me, the "I didn't have ice packs and I didn't get sick" rationale just doesn't fly - we do not eat a lot of preservative-filled food at my house, so I want to ensure the temperature in their lunch box doesn't get warm enough for bacteria to reproduce. On the rare occasion when I can't include ice packs (like when they go on a field trip and want the lunches to be disposable) I only pack nut butters or non-perishable food.

It would be a good science fair experiment to compare lunches with an ice pack to those without...temperature of food, presence of bacteria etc!

 

[littlejimmy]

I pack two ice packs in each of my children's lunch boxes each day, and I'm very particular about the ice packs I send. The icepacks from my local big-box store only stay cold for about 4 hours, on average (yes, I measured), but I found some on Amazon that will stay cold from 5 am (when I pack their lunch) until 3:00 pm (when they get off the bus).

To me, the "I didn't have ice packs and I didn't get sick" rationale just doesn't fly - we do not eat a lot of preservative-filled food at my house, so I want to ensure the temperature in their lunch box doesn't get warm enough for bacteria to reproduce. On the rare occasion when I can't include ice packs (like when they go on a field trip and want the lunches to be disposable) I only pack nut butters or non-perishable food.

not trying to be argumentative here, but at what temp is it warm enough for bacteria to reproduce, and how cool does an icepack keep a lunch box? inquiring(enquiring) minds want to know.