Preparing Safe Lunches

While children rely on teachers for daily lessons, making safe lunches falls squarely on caregivers. Unlike cafeteria workers who regularly take food safety training, most parents preparing lunch for their kids at home or taking it to school haven’t received any formal food safety instruction. Nutrition counts, too. The lunch you’re making satisfies the hunger pangs of busy kids and fuels their cognitive abilities. Studies have shown that proper nutrition improves students’ scores, memory capacities, motor skills, social skills, and language skills. Keep them well-fed and safe with the four steps to food safety – Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill.

Clean: The best way to prevent many forms of illness, including foodborne illness, is with proper hand washing. Children should always clean their hands before eating, and parents should do so before and during lunch preparation. It’s easy to get preoccupied with busy schedules and rush through the five steps of washing hands; however, handwashing is vital to remove any germs that may be present. Hand washing should always include the following:

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
2. Rub your hands together with soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
4. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
5. Dry your hands using a clean towel.

Separate: Prevent cross-contamination by keeping raw meat and poultry away from ready-to-eat foods. When preparing perishable foods that require cutting (for example, raw bacon and raw chicken you plan to cook for salad), separate these items from fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and other foods to avoid cross-contamination.

• Cut up and prepare your raw ingredients to avoid cross-contamination when handling your ready-to-eat items for salads or other sides.
• Different colored cutting boards are a great reminder to prevent cross-contamination (you can use a green cutting board for fresh produce and another color for meat and poultry).

Cook: Have a food thermometer easily accessible to ensure you’re cooking to recommended safe internal temperatures:

• Cook whole cuts of meat, including beef and pork, to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and allow them to rest for at least 3 minutes before carving.
• Cook ground meats, like burgers and sausages, to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cook all chicken and turkey to 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Chill: When preparing lunch ahead of time, remember that perishable foods should not be placed in the Danger Zone—temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit—where bacteria multiply quickly and can make food unsafe.

• Ensure all perishable items are refrigerated within two hours of coming out of the oven or refrigerator.
• Discard food left out for more than two hours to prevent foodborne illness.
• If your child needs to carry their lunch, never pack perishable foods in a brown paper bag because they will be unsafe by lunchtime. Use an insulated, soft-sided lunch bag and add a frozen gel pack and a frozen juice box or bottle of water with the lunch.

These four steps – Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill – give parents and caregivers steps they can use to protect their children from food poisoning. Now that we’ve covered all the basics, you’re ready for the big test – hungry students!

Transform Your Space: Pantry Perfection

Welcome to the ultimate guide to achieving pantry perfection! A clean and organized pantry can truly transform your kitchen space. Not only does it make cooking and meal planning more efficient, but it also contributes to a healthier and more enjoyable home environment. Let’s dive into simple guidelines that will help you maintain a spotless kitchen and pantry.

The Clean Slate

Take everything out: The first step is to remove all items from your pantry. Yes, everything! This includes those half-used bags of pasta, the spices you can't remember buying, and the cans hidden in the back. It’s time to assess what you have, what you need, and what’s simply taking up valuable space.

The Deep Clean

Clean thoroughly: With your pantry emptied, take the opportunity to give it a deep clean. Wipe down all surfaces, including shelves, walls, and those often-forgotten corners. A mix of warm water and mild detergent works wonders, but for tougher stains, consider a mixture of baking soda and water.

Organize and Prioritize

Organize smartly: Group similar items together and decide on the best way to store them. Think about how you use your kitchen and organize items in a way that makes your daily routine smoother. High-use items should be within easy reach, while bulk or seldom-used items can take a higher or more remote shelf.

Label everything: Labels aren’t just for the aesthetically minded; they’re incredibly functional. By clearly marking shelves and containers, you establish a system that guides every household member to effortlessly locate and return items to their rightful spots. But the utility of labels doesn't stop there; they're also incredibly effective for tracking food quality and safety. A simple date labeled on prepared foods can tak the guesswork out of how fresh your leftovers are, ensuring your kitchen is not just organized, but smart and safe too.

Sustainability and Sharing

Donate and compost: If you find unopened, non-perishable items that you won’t use, consider donating them to a local food bank. For perishable items and food scraps, composting is a great way to reduce waste and give back to the earth.

Maintenance is Key

Regular checks: Ideally, your pantry should undergo a major clean-out at least twice a year, though a seasonal approach (four times a year) is even better. Keep an eye on expiration dates, and make immediate clean-ups a habit to avoid attracting pests.

Six Steps to Pantry Perfection

1.    Discard old or unwanted food: Start by getting rid of anything that’s expired, stale, or simply unappealing. This step is liberating and creates space for what you truly enjoy and use.

2.    Donate what you won’t use: Got canned goods or non-perishables you won’t eat? Donate them! Also, reassess small appliances or gadgets that are gathering dust.

3.    Empty those shelves: With unneeded items gone, clear everything else out to prepare for a thorough cleaning.

4.    A clean canvas: Now’s the time to clean those shelves. Don’t overlook this step – a clean surface is key to a truly organized pantry.

5.   Strategic organization: Once clean, start organizing your items by category, usage, or any system that makes sense for your lifestyle. Use bins, baskets, and dividers to keep categories distinct and items accessible.

6.    Opt for re-sealable containers: Ditch bulky packaging for clear, airtight containers. Not only does this save space, but it also keeps your food fresher longer and makes inventory checks a breeze.

Keeping it Clean

Frequent mini-cleans: To keep your pantry in top shape, do a quick sweep once a month. This doesn’t have to be time-consuming – even 20 minutes can make a big difference. Use this time to check stock levels, wipe down surfaces, and ensure everything is in its place.

 Final Thoughts

Achieving and maintaining pantry perfection is about creating a system that works for you and your household. It’s not just about a one-time clean-up but about adopting habits that keep your pantry in order year-round. Remember, a well-organized pantry is more than just pleasing to the eye; it makes cooking more enjoyable, reduces waste, and contributes to a healthier lifestyle.

National Handwashing Awareness Month Resources

A Guide to Handwashing

Will Sawyer, MD, is a Family Physician and the creator of the Henry the Hand Foundation and Henry the Hand Champion Handwasher.

Goal: To improve health by making us more aware of our hands' role in spreading disease.

Mission: To propagate Henry the Hand's 4 Principles of Hand Awareness throughout the United States and the world!
1. WASH your hands when they are dirty and BEFORE eating.
2. DO NOT cough into your hands.
3. DO NOT sneeze into your hands.
4. Above all, DO NOT put your fingers into your eyes, nose, or mouth!

Henry the Hand Champion
Handwashing School Visit

Dr. Will has created a wonderful website for children and educators. The site contains posters, coloring books, school programs, tips on Food Safety, and a lot more. Visit Henry the Handwashing Champion.

Why Handwashing with Soap?

Handwashing with soap is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced and difficult to promote.

Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into a habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter. A vast change in handwashing behavior is critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths among children under five by two-thirds by 2015.

Global Handwashing Day focuses on children because they suffer the most from diarrheal and respiratory diseases and deaths. Still, research shows that children can also be powerful agents for changing behaviors like handwashing with soap in their communities.

When should you wash your hands?
·         Before, during, and after preparing food
·         Before eating food
·         Before and after caring for someone who is sick
·         Before and after treating a cut or wound
·         After using the toilet
·         After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has               used the toilet
·         After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
·         After touching an animal or animal waste
·         After touching garbage

It's In Your Hands

Resources and References

1. CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives

2. Global Handwashing Day

3. Partnership for Food Safety Education, Fight BAC!

4. The Scrub Club. A fun, interactive, and educational Website that teaches children how to wash their hands properly. The site contains interactive games, educational music, downloadable activities for kids, educational materials for teachers, and program information for parents.

5. Healthy Schools, Healthy People, It’s a SNAP! (School Network for Absenteeism Prevention) program is a joint initiative of the CDC and the American Cleaning Institute. This program seeks to improve hand hygiene habits to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases and reduce related absenteeism. This grassroots, education-based effort can help improve health by making hand cleaning an integral part of the school day. Without proper hand cleaning, a single infection can quickly spread among students, teachers, family, and friends.

   

National Handwashing Awareness Week December 5 - 11, 2010

Will Sawyer, MD is a Family Physician and the creator of the Henry the Hand Foundation and Henry the Hand Champion Handwasher.

Goal: To improve health by making us more aware of the role our hands play in the spread of disease.

Mission: To propagate Henry the Hand's 4 Principles of Hand Awareness throughout the United States and the world!
1. WASH your hands when they are dirty and BEFORE eating.
2. DO NOT cough into your hands.
3. DO NOT sneeze into your hands.
4. Above all, DO NOT put your fingers into your eyes, nose or mouth!

Henry the Hand Champion
Handwasher School Visit

Dr. Will has created a wonderful website for children and educators. The site contains posters, coloring books, school programs, tips on Food Safety and a lot more. Visit Henry the Handwashing Champion.