Packing a Safe School Lunch

How often do you pack a lunch to take to school with you?

If you take a lunch to school, it is important to know what to do to keep from getting sick!

Some foods need special attention, like milk, meats and cheeses. These foods can make you sick if food poisoning bacteria is allowed to grow on them.

A bacteria is a one-celled organism that can only be seen with a microscope. Some types of bacteria on food can make you sick, so it is important to know what to do. If you eat foods that have these bacteria on them, you could get food poisoning. Food poisoning will give you a stomach ache, but it can be very serious!

How to make sure your lunch is safe

Put something cold in the lunch box. A fun trick is to freeze a juice box overnight and put that in your lunch box right next to your sandwich. That way, your sandwich will not get too warm and you still have a cold drink at lunchtime! If you do not take a juice box, a small, plastic refrigerator dish filled with water and put into the freezer the night before will do the trick.

Freeze your sandwiches. This works better with coarse-textured breads that won't get soggy when they thaw. The sandwich will be thawed by the time you eat lunch, and it keeps everything else in the lunch box cold. (If you like lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on your sandwich, pack those separately. They do not freeze well, and you may not like the taste when they thaw!)

Use a thermos to keep milk or juice cold until lunchtime. Some juices do not even need to be refrigerated!

Keep your lunch in the coolest place possible! If you have a refrigerator at school, put your lunch in there. If not, keep it out of the sun and away from the heat.

Every day, you can practice these food safety tips and you can feel a lot healthier because of it!

KEEP FOOD SAFE AND YOU'LL KEEP FEELING FINE!