School Lunch Box Recommendations

Updated on April 15, 2014
S.J. asks from Cherryville, MO
10 answers

I am going to send my little guy with lunch to school. He will leave the house around 7 am and will eat around noon. I am looking for a lunch box suggestion. Insulated? Did you send ice packs to keep stuff cold? Did it work? I am new to this, so any help is appreciated. The lunch box will have to be purchased online because I am on bed rest and cannot leave the house, so please send online recommendations! Thanks moms!

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Any insulated lunch bag/box will do.

http://www.target.com/s?keywords=lunch+box&searchNode...

Mark his name on the bag/box/Thermos/etc. with a Sharpie. I'd buy two, my son is forever forgetting O. at school. :-)
I use a plastic freezer pack. I put the drink nearest the ice pack so it will be cold (especially if I send a milk box.) If I use a Thermos for hot stuff (mac & cheese, meatballs, etc) I put hot water in & let stand for about 15 min before the hot food is put in. Stays hot longer.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

www.laptoplunches.com

LABEL all his things with a "Sharpie" felt marker, permanent ink.

Yes, use cold packs. Yes it works.
Yes, insulated lunch bags.

E-bay also has many lunch boxes and 'bento' boxes.

good luck,
Susan

1 mom found this helpful
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S.G.

answers from Albuquerque on

Yubo lunchboxes are awesome. Go to Yubo.com to check them out. They are not cheap, but are well worth the money.

I would get the lunchbox with the drink holer and plastic container with it. That is what my daughter's have and I love that I don't have to buy plastic bags. They also offer a drink holder. Go for it!

This is seriously the BEST lunchbox you will purchase. It is a small investment but well worth it. And it will last for years.

1 mom found this helpful
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V.J.

answers from Phoenix on

Definitely get an insulated lunchbox of some sort and make sure you write his name in it with permanent marker. What my mom did instead of ice packs was to put a frozen juice box in the bag. It would keep the food cold and it would be defrosted enough to drink by the time I got to lunch break.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.S.

answers from Chicago on

The New Generation Lunch Box by BrightBin are awesome little lunch boxes! They can be used as a lunch box on their own (they come with a handle) or they can fit right into a child's insulated lunch bag. They replace plastic bags and tupperware that hold the actual food. They fit into a child's favorite insulated bag so they can still keep Spiderman or Hello Kitty. My daughter refused to use any lunch box except for her TinkerBelle. So the lunch box inserts into the insulated lunch box. This is where you put all the food. It is one unit, no separate pieces or lids, has built-in divided compartments for food. And even better than anything else, the whole thing opens up and goes right into the dishwasher. Lunch went from taking 5-7 minutes to make down to less than one minute. These lunch boxes are so easy!!! www.brightbin.com

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N.G.

answers from Los Angeles on

www.namemystuff.com.au have a great range of permanently marked school lunch boxes and affordable.

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M.H.

answers from Detroit on

I use insulated lunch boxes and then I send them with a capri-sun juice pouch which I put in the freezer in the morning for about an hour and a half. This stays cool until lunchtime and acts as an ice pack for the other food too. I also send them with the yogurt in a tube which can be frozen also and is ready to eat by lunchtime.
Not sure where to find the lunch boxes online but I got mine from a Toys R Us store (maybe they sell them on their website too)

T.L.

answers from St. Louis on

Not sure why the lunch box has to be purchased online. You can get awesome lunchboxes at Wal-Mart, Target or any other store.

I would recommend ice packs for the cold food and a thermos for hot food such at soups if your little guy like soup. The soup will stay hot, but not burn him by the time lunch comes. Another great thing is to get the yogurt tubes. These are freezeable and thaw out by lunch time helping to keep things cold.

Remember to write his name on his lunch box as kids tend to forget them at school.

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M.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

I use an insulated lunch box (got it at Costco) and insert an ice pack.
Best wishes,
M.

V.W.

answers from Jacksonville on

Land's End.
My daughter is using hers for the third year in a row now. Or is it 4 years? Anyway... their prices are a little more than you pay for something off the shelf at Target or Walmart, but the quality more than makes up for it. I spent about $25 for my daughter's... but that was 3 years ago and she is not easy on packs. She likes to THROW them into the car. :) If I'd bought a bag at Target or Walmart, I would have probably spent $12, and then another $12 halfway through the year when the lining starting ripping/tearing. Then another $24 the next year, and then some more this fall. But her Land's End one is still in great shape and DOES keep things cool.

I pop in a freezer wrap thing and lunchables, yogurt, pudding, chilled fruit, cheese.. whatever.. they all stay just fine. Her lunch is packed just before 7 am, and she eats around noon also. Hers has a separate compartment for the water bottle (which is also insulated), which is nice, b/c that way her PB & J sandwich doesn't get smushed by the weight of the bottle. Hers looks like one of the old timey adult kinds (where the lid is rounded and folds back), except it isn't metal.

Also.... freezing go-gurts and tossing them in is an idea someone shared with me. They're supposed to defrost just right by lunch time if you don't put in a chill pak or anything. I always do anyway (because I get paranoid), but I've been told you don't have to.

http://www.landsend.com/pp/MultiTaskLunchBox~197136_-1.ht...

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