How to Pack a School Lunch

With the cost of school lunches rising to over $2 a child in many places, it can become expensive to feed your child a lunch. Making a lunch for your child does not have to be difficult or boring. You can send your child with fabulous meals and save yourself hundreds of dollars a school year. Read on to learn how.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• lunch box
• thermos
• sandwich bags
• small containers
• ice packs

1. Create a list of foods you know your child will eat. Write down everything, even if you don't think it would work in a lunch box. Almost everything can be served from a lunch box with proper planning and equipment; so write them all down.
2. With your list you can now see what types of containers you will need. Plain lunch boxes are fine in most cases. However, some kids would do better with a Bento box, also known as a laptop box. These boxes are sectioned off to offer greater variety of foods in one container. You may also need sandwich bags, small containers, thermos, or food thermos.
3. For foods that do not need to be at a certain temperature, then you don't have any special preparation. Simply place in the container with your other items and you are good to go.
4. For cold foods, insert a frozen ice pack in the lunch box by the item that needs to be cold. These might include sandwiches, peaches, cottage cheese, string cheese, or yogurt.
5. For hot foods you will need to prepare a little more. Food thermoses are wonderful. You put boiling water into the container and seal it while you heat the food. Heat the food in either the microwave or on the stove, or prepare that morning. Pour the water out of the container and dry and immediately fill with food.
6. To keep food from squashing, you can put into sturdy containers instead of just sandwich bags. Put all needed utensils, except knives if prohibited, napkins, and any snack or side dish you want into the lunch box.
7. Some foods can simply be wrapped in foil to keep warm and neat. Burritos and quesadillas will stay fresh wrapped tightly in foil.
8. If you run out of ideas on what to send, check the school menu. The school menu will offer several great ideas including side dishes to keep your child happy. Your budget will thank you as well.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your child how they liked the food to see if you need to modify the menu or the way you pack it to keep the temperature at the right level.
• Prepare most of the food the night before to minimize the morning rush.