As parents and caregivers, we take a lot of pride when packing up lunches for our children to enjoy while at school—from making sure we are supplying them with enough nutritional variety, to packaging and presenting the meals in unique ways, to including little notes of love and encouragement to get them through their day.

To ensure that the food stays fresh long enough to make it to the cafeteria and safely into the bellies of our little loved ones, we’ve tested a few homemade ice packs that you can easily add into their lunch boxes. Of course, you can always just add in a store-bought ice pack—but when you go to all this length to make the meal special, why not go that extra mile?

Dish Soap
Pour ½ cup of dish soap into a ziplock bag. Remove the air before zipping closed. Lay the bag flat in the freezer until you’re ready to use.

Ideal for shorter periods of time, malleable for fitting into tight spaces.

Sponge
Dampen a sponge, and wring out enough of the water so that it is not dripping. Place the sponge into a ziplock bag. Freeze until ready to use!

Ranked #1 for its simplicity and convenience, best placed directly near perishable items.

salt-ice-pack

Salt Water
Mix 2 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of salt. Pour into a large ziplock bag. Lay the bag flat in the freezer until you’re ready
to use.

Perfect for longer stretches of time, keeps entire lunch box cool.

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