‘Ditch the paper bag’: Simple USDA tricks that will make it easier to pack your kids a safe lunch

Many parents are packing their kids’ backpacks for the first day of school this week, and a key part of setting kids up for success is sending them off to school with a good lunch. A USDA food safety specialist shared tips with Boston 25 News.

Jesse Garcia with the USDA says it starts with throwing out a lunchtime staple:

“The USDA recommends that you ditch the paper bag. We want you to get insulated bags on your back-to-school trip,” Garcia said.

While you’re choosing that new lunchbox, get a cold pack to go with it. In addition to that first-day-of-school outfit, you want to make sure your student’s lunch is also “back-to-school cool”...at 40 degrees or less.

“You could also pack frozen water bottles, frozen juice boxes to keep all those perishables at 40 degrees and below while you wait for lunch,” Garcia said.

Once the cool fall days take over, a hot lunch can also be a safe choice, just add a thermos to your back-to-school list.

“We recommend that if you’re going to put some soup or chili in there, you fill it up with boiling hot water, let it sit for three minutes, and then pour out the contents and pour in that chili or soup and fill it tight, and it should remain heated at a safe temperature by lunchtime,” Garcia said.

On a hectic morning, nonperishable lunches are great options. Consider whole fruits, vegetables, hard cheeses, breads, and crackers as you fill the lunch boxes.

One meal that may be off the table in your school, is the good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Peanuts are among the ‘big nine’ allergens, along with sesame, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, and soybeans.

With 1 in 13 children now experiencing a food allergy, check with your child’s school about any foods that may be off-limits. And if your child has an allergy:

“Always read the labels when you go shopping, you’re familiar with the product, you pick it up, always read the label because guess what? Ingredients change over time,” Garcia said.

At home, prepare food for a child with allergies first, to avoid cross-contamination.

“Make sure that the child with allergies has a plan, a game plan that they know who their school nurses, the cafeteria manager, their principal, and where the safe zones in the school, allergy-free safe zones,” added Garcia.

A little preparation to make sure your child’s lunch makes the grade when it comes to safety!

Garcia also mentioned one of the most important things kids can do to have a safe lunch. Wash their hands! He recommends packing hand sanitizer that’s 60% alcohol in the lunchbox to help encourage good hand hygiene.

You can always have more questions answered at www.foodsafety.gov

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