Lunch Boxes
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Sept 2005
Has there been any advice given about alternatives to vinyl
lunchboxes? All of the parents in my daughter's preschool have
complained that they cannot find any alternatives to vinyl (e.g.
the metal lunchboxes that I grew up with). Besides the old
standby the brown paper bag, does anyone have alternative
suggestions?
Daphne
Try here: http://www.lunchboxes.com/dome.html
Nori
Try http://www.lunchboxes.com/ - they have metal and plastic lunchboxes.
Anon
How about a Mimi the Sardine bag? You can buy them at Whole Foods.
http://www.mimithesardine.com/BAGS/Bags.html
anon
Hi, I had the same problem and finally found a few vinyl free options at
www.reusablebags.com (click on ''cloth lunch bags''). They have a cotton canvas bag
for $6.95, an organic cotton canvas bag for $8.95, and some cute SIGG bags as well.
Amy
We use little cat in the hat back packs for lunch boxes. Now that they need bigger
packs for school (preK and 1st grade), we put the mini back pack lunch into the
bigger pack.
karlyn
I've seen small canvas bags, that look like little versions of the canvas shopping
bag, at Artist and Craftsmen Supply on Shattuck, south of University, closer to
Ashby. Those are nice because you can decorate or paint them yourself. You may also
consider Halloween trick or treat bags. There are a bunch at Target right now, of
course they all look like pumpkins and black cats, but who cares!
They seem durable and handy. Baskets work well too, thats what the kids who go to the
Waldorf school use for their lunches. Baskets come in a variety of styles. Some are
lined, some are picnic style with a hinged lid, and I've even seen some that are
suitcase style (like metal lunch boxes). For baskets try Target, Cost Plus, or
Salvation Army.There are so many different types of soft or rigid type bags or
baskets for all types of uses. Be creative when thinking of where to look. You might
be surprised what you find. Try The Ark on fourth street, and other toy stores.
Elephant Pharmacy is another place that can have some interesting bags or containers.
But probably the easiest and most simple would be a canvas bag or basket with a
handle. If you are handy with sewing, you can eventually make a nice bag and insulate
it yourself. And there is nothing wrong with a paper bag either. That's all I had
when growing up.
Laurey
I just ordered lunch bags at www.ReusableBags.com - they say that they are lead free.
One has a cute airplane on it and another is pink with flowers. They're expensive
(relatively speaking... $19.95 each) but it's all worth it!!!
huckin' the Vinyl too
Last year or maybe the year before last, I bought a metal ''Olivia'' lunchbox at
Rockridge Kids. They had about 3 other characters.
Anon
Please note that not all soft lunch bags are made out of vinyl. With all the recent
news about vinyl lunchbags, I freaked out and did several google searches for info.
My daughter's lunchbag is actually polyeurothane which has not (yet?) tested positive
for the lead problem. FYI.
Elizabeth
The metal lunchboxes are still around. Try 5 Little Monkeys on Solano, Snippety
Crickets on Solano, The Ark on 4th Street, Mr. Mopps on MLK, or order on line.
Good luck. anon
I'm not sure about where
to get non-vinyl lunchboxes, but I did buy a lead testing kit at the hardware store
(about $7 and can be used 4 times) and tested 2 of our vinyl lunchboxes, both which
tested negative, so you may want to give this a try. martha
You may find that you can use lunch
containers that act as coolers. Try REI. It won't have that logo of a favorite
character but it may stand up to more wear and tear and can serve as a great way to
keep lunch cool. If you are into the metal containers there are a few still being
made. Look on line or at a store called ''Happy Trails''. Rachel
At my children's school, the young
children use baskets, similar to a sm My older son uses a canvas bag that is cut in
the same shape as a paper bag. I've also seen a drawstring cloth bag, which I always
liked the look of. I, myself, use canvas grocery bags for my lunch; so easy to wash
over and over. eve
You can get the old
metal (or newer plastic) kind with fun graphics, etc on ebay. Rockridge Kids carries
a couple of hard plastic ones that are pretty durable, but not deep enough for the
short, squat thermos's. Fabric bags work and are easy enough to make, if you're so
inclined. Or, whatever happened to a good ol' brown bag lunch? ~Alt lunch mama
Lunchboxes.com has a large selection of
metal and plastic lunchboxes, including a lot of retro ones apparently designed for
adults (would kids want an I Love Lucy lunchbox?). Many of them have matching
thermos bottles, like the ones I remember from way back when. Kathleen
I found a metal lunch box at
www.jetblue.com in the 'shop blue' section. It isn't an obvious advertisement for
the company, but rather just a collage of their travel poster (which don't say
JetBlue, but rather are art-deco city scenes). We love the retro lunch box and will
get another when our younger child needs one as well.
-found a metal box
July 2004
I'm looking for an insulated lunch box for my preschooler with a
*removable hard plastic insert* so I can take it out and wash all
milk and other spills out completely.
We had one like this (insulated rectangular box - fabric on the
outside, shoulder strap, hard plastic insert to protect sides and
bottom) that we bought at Pastime but it is lost and I've been to
many hardware stores, drug stores, and searched online to no
avail. I keep hoping that the ''back to school'' products will
come in soon and I'll be able to find what I'm looking for but
I'm getting tired of searching and am hoping someone has seen one
or knows a brand name. - Thank you!!
Charis
Hello, I bought two of these in Walgreen's, across the street from the Berkeley Bowl,
but that was one and a half year ago.
Anon
May 2004
I am concerned about warming food up in plastic containers. Can
someone tell me where I can get small glass containers with
plastic lids that I can use to send my daughters lunch to
daycare. Thanks!
shari
Almost any department store (Sears, Target), kitchen store
(Williams Sonoma), or even Costco and some hardware stores sell
these, although the range of sizes may be limited. Or a thrift
store. I sometimes put food in my jelly jar-type drinking glasses
that have matching plastic lids. You might also consider ceramic
containers (like Corningware).
But if you're worried about plastic, you'll want be sure the lids
are removed before they go into the microwave or get containers
with glass lids.
David
Mason Jars would work for this: They come in a variety of sizes. Also,
Picard makes a "French Working Glass" with a top that would work too.
I would check first with the preschool to see if they will actually
take glass. Mine won't because they are afraid of breakage.
Good Luck.
I bought some at Target, but they aren't perfect - too small for
some things, and one broke in transit . . . So now my solution
is to send ''warm-ups'' on paper plates or in paper bowls. I know
it's not so great for the environment to create more landfill,
but at least they biodegrade?
amy
I've found some nice little round glass containers with plastic
lids at Crate & Barrel. I noticed that they also have them at the
Crate & Barrel Outlet store on 4th street. The only drawback with
glass is that your child might break them and get hurt.
Sima
They have great small lunchbox type glass containers at Koreana
Plaza (formerly Pusan Plaza). They come in assorted sizes and
have snap on plastic lids. It's a Korean market at 2370 Telegraph.
Sian
Feb 2004
I'd like to buy a new lunch box for my 5-yr old. Is there such
a lunch box that can take cold things (cold juice, cold milk,
blue ice) and hot things (hot food in thermos) at the same
time? What do you recommend? Where can I find the product?
Thank you very much.
Here's what works well for us:
Get a stainless steel vacuum-insulated wide-mouth Thermos (real
Thermos brand, about 10-ounce capacity). We found it at
Target. This will hold the hot stuff.
Then, the chilled items go in little plastic containers
(Tupperware type), and I put a small blue-ice pack with them.
You could also use a frozen juice-box.
They all go together (with utensils, etc.) into any soft-sided
lunch box. I know that the soft-sided ones are a little
trickier to keep clean, but the rigid lunch boxes are not
flexible enough to hold all the assorted size containers. The
vacume thermos is so well insulated, the hot food stays hot,
and the cold food stays cold.
The Thermos was a little pricey, but REALLY keeps the food
warm. It works best if you pre-heat it with boiling water for
a few minutes before adding the warm soup, or whatever.
R.K.
May 2003
My daughter is starting school in fall and we're looking for a
lunchbox, with a thermos. We would like something other than
Barbie or Brittany, even Dora the Explorer would be better. We've
tried Toys R'Us and Target with no success. Any ideas much
appreciated.
anon
I bought a Barbie lunchbox that had a thermos, and peeled off
the ''Barbie'' part on both sides. Then I had a gloriously pink
plain lunch pail, the only sign of barbie being her name in
cursive on the handle where no one sees it.
Sally
Most stores won't be getting lunchboxes til August. I did see a
few at Rockridge Kids though, both with and without characters.
Try them and other toy stores, but all will tell you the best
selection will be available in August.
Ellen
Rockridge Kids has some right now. Curious George, Olivia, and
a handful of other characters (Sesame Street, which is probably
too young for your daughter, and some others I don't remember).
Oh- I just realized that they probably don't have thermoses.
Well, perhaps you can buy a plain thermos at the drugstore.
Try toy stores instead. We have found nice lunchboxes at both Mr.
Mopp's, on MLK, and A Child's Place, at the top of Solano. They
are not character lunchboxes, and seem to hold up as long as any
others we have tried.
Mary
Teddy's Little Closet on College Ave. (nr. Ashby) in the Elmwood
neighborhood of Berkeley has nice insulated square lunch boxes
with beautiful designs like butterflies and bugs and zoo animals.
No thermos though. I got mine earlier in the year so you might
want to call them before you go to see if they still have them.
anon
Toy Safari in Alameda has a wide selection of lunch boxes from plastic to cool metal, with vintage to current children's themes.
elaine
We've had great luck over the years with the softsided zipping
cooler boxes from REI and other outdoor stores. Easy to clean.
Easy to cram into a backpack. You can toss in a small icepack
to keep things cold if need be. No advertising.
Been there
I saw some cool lunchboxes with animals on the front (non-
corporate) at Baby World on Piedmont. They have
thermoses in them too.
Brightstar
Check out http://lunchboxes.com. They have a good selection and
range of prices. Last year I looked everywhere for a metal
lunchbox my son would like and found this site. They have all
types for all ages, even a good selection of metal ones. (We
find the clasps break on the plastic ones and the cloth ones get
smelly.) My son gets comments at his preschool on his ''really
cool'' Schoolhouse Rock lunchbox. The comments are all from
teachers in their 30s, but he likes it and it has lasted the
entire school year. I'm trying to talk him into the Janis Joplin
lunchbox this year, but I think he wants Spiderman....
30s Mom
Try Target a little later in the summer (but not TOO late) -
the selection will be much bigger, including not only
the ''hottest'' characters, but some more toned-down ones (like
Dora) too. Also, they always have some with no characters -
bright colors or designs. You may want to try a few times,
since selection varies throughout the summer. Another option,
if she likes any of the ''Hello Kitty'' (Sanrio) characters, is
to try stores that specialize in that stuff (like the one a
Pacific East Mall). They are more expensive than Target, but
the one my daughter got there four years ago is still going
strong, while we've had to replace my son's Target purchase at
least once in that time.
Also to consider in your decision: I know some people like the
hard-sided ones rather than the soft-sided because they are
easier to clean. However, one advantage of the soft ones is
that it can take a variety of small containers inside. I like
using re-usable containers rather than endless plastic bags,
and the hard-sided ones make it hard to fit them inside.
R.K.
Try Lauren's Closet on Park Blvd. in Alameda. Although they
specialize in used kids clothes, they have lots of fun, brand
new lunch boxes, including my personal favorite, Hello Kitty! I
think Rockridge Kids also has a decent collection.
AW
A great idea I picked up from other moms at my nursery school is
to go to an art-supply or hardware store and get a clear plastic
artists or storage box. They have a handle on the top, and are
usually the right size for a sippy/thermos, lunch plus icepack.
They don't get that funky odor that the soft lunchboxes do, and
they can just get washed in the dishwasher at night.
My daughter likes to be able to peek and see what's for lunch
during the day too, without opening up her box. You can decorate
them with stickers or sharpie pens if you want.
sick of stinky lunchboxes
For lunchboxes - I second the recommendation for the REI
lunchbag-style soft lunchbxes. I prefer the noncommercial type
lunchboxes. I recently saw a lot of lunchboxes at the ACE
Hardware on San Pable AVe in ElCerrito.
ellen
July 2001
Re-heatable re-usable boxes for school lunches, with separate compartments and tight fitting lids. We send our kids to school with home cooked lunches most days. We are looking for a better solution that than small square rubber maid containers, which don't keep the food separate. Have found lots of options that are too big. I need something small enough to fit in a lunch box. Something like a small sturdy bento box would be ideal. Anyone found anything like this?
peterandbrian
Tupperware has an item, called a Lunch-N-Serve, I think, that might work
for you. They have recently introduced a "cold cup" to go in one compartment,
so you can take the cold item (fruit, yogurt, whatever) out before you heat
the whole thing in the microwave. This might be too big for you, though. Also,
they have some smaller divided containers pretty much meant for this purpose,
although I'm not sure that they are "regular" items (might have been a special). If you are interested in checking out the Tupperware, you could call my former manager, Denise Lum, at 510-814-6999. She's a real sweetie with a 1 year-old, and could use the business.
Dawn
We bought a bento-box like container at Toys 'R' Us a few years ago. We use
it often for our daughter's preschool lunches. Fits nicely in a lunchbox. It has a bottom compartment that is one big compartment, and a top compartment that is three or four small compartments, and a lid. We love it.
Brksie
There are Japanese-made "food jars" made by Zojirushi
that sell between $35-$55. They are very well
designed.
The $35 model is very small but holds enough food for
a small child.
The Obento model costs $50+tax and it's light blue. It
looks like a wide thermos and fits inside a regular
lunch bag. It comes with three containers with lids.
Two of the containers slide in. One is good for dry
food (rice/noodles+meat+veggies), the second container
is small and can hold a small amount of soup. The
third container is integrated onto the lid.
You can find it in San Francisco's Japantown. The
store carries kitchenware and is located in the first
floor next to the garage entrance/exit.
Rosa
Tokyo Fish Market on San Pablo near Gilman has a nice selection of bento
boxes. They also have wonderful miniature tupperware with tiny lids, which
I use for pickles, peas, and other stuff.
Laura
I had to go through the same search couple years ago, because my child
does not like to mixed food. I bought couple of lunch boxes with small
compartments in a Chinese store on Clement (cross 8th st) in San
Francisco. I think they are really bentoes and made in Japan. One of
them is about 4in x 7in x 1.5in (w x l x h) and has 3 small removable
compartments in it with tight lids (leak proof). Another one is a 4in
square cube, which has two layers but the lid is not tight fitting. You
can take out the top layer. I am not sure where to get something like
this in east bay. The store I bought the boxes is not a Chinese grocery
store, it sells all kinds of kitchen wares.
Maryann
I found a small square tupperware-style serving dish at ToysRUs about a
year ago. I believe it is made by First Years: the bottom dish is made
to hold a sandwich; stacked on top of that is the divided dish (it has 3
sections); then the lid goes on top of the whole thing. The divided
dish has been great for our toddler and older child. However using the
sandwich holder on the bottom does not work well because it is very
difficult to separate the 2 dishes. So I have 3 of these setups, so
that I have 3 lids. Maybe they've improved the product in the last
year.
Jennifer
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