Your little ones are headed back to school for another year of learning and fun. The school day can be taxing for children, which means that they need healthy foods to fuel their bodies and brains! Many parents choose to pack their children’s lunches to assure they have healthy foods they will eat. TCHD wants to help parents provide both safe and healthy lunches with some back to school food packing safety tips:

 

This is Public Health is brought to you in partnership with the Tuscarawas County Health Department.

 

Healthy Lunches

 

Most dieticians agree that following the US Department of Agriculture MyPlate guidelines is the easiest way to ensure you’ve packed your child a healthy lunch. This includes fruits, vegetables, healthy grains, proteins, and dairy. 

 

The best way to encourage healthy eating is to involve your kids in the meal planning process. Allow them to choose items from each category to include in their school lunches and use some of the activities and resources on the MyPlate Kids page for inspiration.

 

 

Ensuring Food Safety

 

While it’s important to include a healthy balance of foods in your child’s lunch, it’s just as important to keep that food safe. The USDA suggests the following:

 

Begin with Safe Food

Perishable food (refrigerated), including meat, poultry and eggs, must be kept cold at all times. In between store and home, transport perishable food as fast as possible when no ice source is available. At home, refrigerate perishables promptly. Food should not be left out at room temperature more than 2 hours — 1 hour if the temperature is above 90 degrees F (32.2 degrees C).

Prepackaged combos are sometimes packed for lunch. These combos often contain perishable foods such as luncheon meats, cheese, and cut fruit that must be kept refrigerated, even though they may be cured or contain preservatives.

Keep Everything Clean

Before beginning to pack lunches, make sure to wash your hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water after preparing each food item and before you go on to the next item. 

Don’t Cross-Contaminate

Harmful bacteria can spread throughout the kitchen and get onto cutting boards, utensils, and countertops. Always use a clean cutting board. When using a cutting board for food that will not be cooked, such as bread, lettuce, and tomatoes, be sure to wash the board after using it to cut raw meat and poultry. Consider using one cutting board for fresh produce and a separate one for meat and poultry.

Packing Lunches

Pack just the amount of perishable food that can be eaten at lunchtime. That way, there won’t be a problem about the storage or safety of leftovers. After lunch, discard all leftover food, used food packaging, and paper bags. Do not reuse packaging because it could contaminate other food and cause foodborne illness.

It’s fine to prepare the food the night before, but pack lunch bags right before leaving home. Freezing sandwiches helps them stay cold. However, for best quality, don’t freeze sandwiches containing mayonnaise, lettuce, or tomatoes. Add these later.

Insulated, soft-sided lunch boxes or bags are best for keeping food cold, but pack at least two ice sources with perishable food in any type of lunch bag or box you use.

Keeping Cold Lunches Cold

Prepare cooked food, such as turkey, ham, chicken, and vegetable or pasta salads, ahead of time to allow for thorough chilling in the refrigerator [40 degrees F (4.4 degrees C) or below]. Divide large amounts of food into shallow containers for fast chilling.

To keep lunches cold away from home, include at least two cold sources. When packing your bag lunch, place them on top and bottom of the perishable food items to keep them cold. 

Some food is safe without a cold source. Items that don’t require refrigeration include whole fruits and vegetables, hard cheese, canned meat and fish, chips, breads, crackers, peanut butter, jelly, mustard, and pickles.

Keeping Hot Lunches Hot

Use an insulated container to keep food like soup, chili, and stew hot. Fill the container with boiling water, let stand for a few minutes, empty, and then put in the piping hot food. Keep the insulated container closed until lunchtime to keep the food hot — 140 degrees F (60 degrees C) or above.