Grocery News: More Fun with Lunch Boxes

By Katy Killilea

Small companies with innovative designs, food-safe fabrics. What’s better than that? These are sturdy, soft lunch boxes to fit every size meal and body.

Mimi the Sardine
This company offers bibs, aprons, and tablecloths with bright Swedish fabrics that really pop. Lucky for the lunch box columnists at Kidoinfo, Mimi the Sardine also offers two options for toting lunch.

The Lunch Bug is just the right size for a sandwich, drink, snack, and a piece of fruit. Our model’s lunch bag is made from “Jungle” print, complete with cheeky monkey and elephant. The Back Pack (seen on our model in the “Fleur” print) is a bit bigger and can accommodate lunch as well as some books and the big bottle of water all school children are suddenly toting everywhere they go.

Either bag can be made with ladybugs, cars, penguins, and other appealing fabrics. All of these are Swedish cotton prints, treated with a non-toxic, environmentally sound coating to make them spill and dirt resistant. The fabric is soft, with a little bit of give, so you can squeeze in an extra apple. Wipe clean or machine wash as needed.
The Lunch Bug, $21.95.  The Back Pack, $36.95.

BuiltNY
Who knew the fabrics most often found at endurance events were so well-suited to lunchboxes? Reflective blankets stabilize the temperature of marathon runners after they cross the finish line. A wetsuit keeps you warm when you train for a triathalon in open water. So it makes sense that these same materials can regulate your lunch’s temperature. But does anyone look as good in a wetsuit as food looks in these lunchboxes?

The Fugu Lunch Tote was not designed for kids specifically, but lots of kids will like the bold colors and spongy, springy feeling of the fabric. This bag is the perfect size for a parent-child lunch in the park or for a big kid to take to school. The segregated drink compartment makes a big difference in terms of preserving the integrity of soft or crushable items in the main compartment. Machine wash, drip dry. $22.

Munchlers
These small bags are: animal heads, placemats, backpacks, and amazing feats of origami. Unzip the bag all the way and you have a completely flat splotch-shaped mat to dine upon. These are the perfect size for a preschooler’s first backpack, and the fact that they insulate food is a bonus. Lion, dog, bunny, and others are available.

Munchlers are made from fabric that is food safe, lead free, and very lightweight, with an animal face on the outside and shiny silver on the inside. Hand wash with soap and water. $15.

Please share your lunch-packing tips with the Kidoinfo community! We welcome your comments.