Sending Milk to School

You can get milk in juice box type containers that don't need to be kept cold to keep. Horizon organic has regular and flavored milk (my kids love them) and so do a couple of other brands. You could probably freeze the boxes if you wanted it to stay cold but you don't have to.

Can't he get his milk in school?
At my kids' school, even if a child brings home-lunch, the child can go up and get a carton of milk, when they are in the cafeteria for lunch. And the amount is deducted from their school lunch account.
This is elementary school.

The milk boxes referred to below (while yummy, don't get me wrong) are incredibly expensive...as in, a dollar a box.

You can freeze milk, but you don't even have to...just stick it in the freezer when you get up, throw it in his lunch bag with an ice pack, and it will be fine. You could use an insulated thermos for it, as well.

Try rice cakes for a snack...45 calories, and some excellent flavors. I personally like Quaker's white cheddar...yum. Very low sodium, as well, for being so yummy.

We use either the Horizon milk boxes or a Foogo thermos. Stick the thermos in the fridge to "chill", fill with milk, and it stays cold for several hours...even out in the hot sun.

I get the horizon milk boxes at Sam's Club for like $12 for a 18 pack.
Or they buy milk at school.

I put my son's milk in a plastic bottle and just put a few ice packs in there. He's never gotten sick or complained that the milk is not cold. Sometimes it's sitll cold when he gets home from school and hasn't drank it all.

Here's some snack ideas:
Granola bars (the TLC Kashi ones), almonds, raisins, we sometimes make our own trail mix (cereal, nuts, raisins, m&ms), nutter butters, animal crackers, fruit cup, cut up peppers.

I use an insulated cup in an insulated lunch bag with a small ice pack and the milk stays cold for hours. We like to make individual trail mixes. My son's favorites are Cheddar Bunnies, Oatmeal Squares, mini pretzels, and dried berries. My husband likes granola, dark chocolate chips, dried berries, pretzel twists... you get the idea :)

i have a Thermos that holds hot for 5 hrs and cold for 7 hrs. Its great! My daughter has told me that her food has steam coming out of it when she open her warm lunch. She loves it. She hates to eat cold food. Her chocolate milk to very cold. Happy child, happy me! :)

Mini carrots
mini rice cakes (if he likes them)
crackers
crackers & cheese pack
trail mix
pretzels
mini sandwich (mini bread slices in deli section w/slice of salami & cheese if he likes cheese)

I have a kid water bottle that has a little ice stick on the cover so you freeze that and then stick it in the bottle to keep it cold and it wont water the milk as it unfreezes. I think I got it at walmart over the summer.

sure! you can also get the kind that doesn't need refrigeration at all, but that degree of processing squicks me out a bit (however i buy raw milk, so i'm clearly on the other end of the spectrum<G>.)
your snacks sound great. you can make homemade granola bars and cookies, toast the almonds lightly and mix them with raisins or other dried fruit, make homemade fruit leather, applesauce, string cheese, hummus with crackers or cut up veggies.
:) khairete
S.

Does the school not sell milk at lunch? I know my boys can buy a milk every day for 30 cents. I'd call and ask to speak to the cafeteria manager. You should be able to send money to the school so he has a "milk account." He'd just get a cold milk from school every day.

Milk lasts fine for a few hours out of refrigeration. Don't freeze it. It won't be thawed by lunch time.

My mother used to freeze milk if she bought it on sale. She had twins late in life and had grandchildren all within years of each other. That house used a lot of milk!

i would go with the milk rachel discribed. i see it in the stores i shop at and i get them for my daughter when we are on road trips if they are on sale. if they arent then i get the store brand pediasure shake style drinks.

Can he buy milk at school? I think milk separates when it freezes, so he'd have to mix it up good. I've also seen milk boxes (juice boxes with milk).

There are a few juice-box-style milks on the shelves these days that don't have to be refrigerated. And they're organic, so a plus there. Horizon and Trader Joes come to mind...