Packing a Picnic Lunch

Our family enjoys taking educational day trips during our school year, fun day trips, and nature walks on hiking trails. We also have two children heavily involved in swim teams that involve quite a bit of travel to swim meets. What do all of these things have in common? They are all opportunities to pack a picnic lunch!

Bringing your own food when you are going to be away from home for the day has a great many advantages over purchasing food where you are going.

• There may not be any food to purchase where you are going. This is particularly true at remote nature hike locations.
• There may not be any food that you WANT to purchase where you are going. We had this experience at the state fair - all the stands featured fried foods which just didn't sound good in the heat.
• Bringing your own food will save you a significant amount of money over purchasing food at your location.
• You can eat when you want to eat without waiting in long lines to purchase overpriced food.
• You will actually have enough food for your children. I know that my two older ones are no longer filled up by a fast-food kids' meal.
• You will have snacks for the ride home.

If you have any doubts about whether you are allowed to bring food into your destination, call ahead and ask or check their website. I was pleasantly surprised years ago to learn that all of the Science Centers that we visit and the zoos that we visit allow you to bring coolers of food and drinks into the Science Center and zoos.

Many places do not allow food or drinks to be brought into the park but have picnic tables set up outside of the park. For example, we have season's passes to a nearby water park. While you are not allowed to bring coolers or food into the park, they have lovely, shaded picnic areas near the parking lot. We just get our hands stamped at the gate, go get our coolers, and have a lovely picnic in the shade! We have also done this at large amusement parks.

After years of packing picnic lunches for our family and guests here are my assortment of packing tips:

• Bring a vinyl tablecloth to cover the picnic table if you will be eating outside. So many times, picnic tables are not as clean as we might desire and an inexpensive vinyl tablecloth quickly fixes that problem.
• Pack more food than you think you will need if you are bringing older children, teens, or friends of your children. I am always amazed by how much food a group of hungry children can consume. If your crew doesn't eat all of the food - it doesn't go to waste. Simply bring it home! On the other hand, I often find that my children enjoy a snack on the way home from our day trip so they usually eat the rest of lunch on the way home.
• Pack more drinks that you think you will need. I always pack a medium-sized cooler of water bottles. Again, if they are not used, they don't go to waste - I just bring them home.
• Try to pack an assortment of foods. I usually pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sub sandwiches with meat cut in half, snack foods like goldfish crackers, fruits and vegetables, soup in a thermos, and another source of meat/protein like cheese chunks, turkey bites, or chicken nuggets. I cook the chicken nuggets, let them cool, and then pack them in the cooler. They are yummy eaten cold.
• Don't forget to pack packets of condiments, napkins, paper plates, and a trash bag. Hand sanitizer and wet wipes are also a good addition as well.
• I prefer to pack three medium sized coolers rather than one huge cooler. Why? So my children can help carry the coolers of course!

So, the next time you plan a day-trip for your family, consider packing a picnic lunch to take with you!