The essentials

OK so I thought I would start with what I believe to be some of the essentials to sending lunches to school with children. So I decided to do this in list form.

1) Thermal Lunchbox
This is imperative in keeping food both cold AND warm. What you you put in warm will stay warm for a period, and what you put in cold will stay cold for a period.
2) Small tupperware-ish bowls.
In my opinion, I prefer using small tupperware-ish bowls as opposed to using ziplock-ish baggies. While the ziplock baggies allow for more room in some cases, I prefer not to use them for environmental reasons. After spending 3 1/2 years in Germany and learning the art of recycling and reusing/repurposing, I find that I much prefer the small tupperware-ish bowls that I can wash and use again and again. It's also cheaper in the long run to invest in some inexpensive (think store brand, ziplock, rubbermaid, etc) sandwich-, and snack-size bowls than to use a new bag (or 3) every day, and have to buy a new box of baggies every couple of weeks.
3) Re-usable ice packs
When sending cold foods, like sandwiches, fruits, yogurts, salads, etc, these are an INTEGRAL lunch-packing supply. Freeze them at night, pack them in the lunchbox, and re-freeze each night to be used again when needed (often times, tomorrow LOL!)
4) A small Thermos jug
This will help you to be able to send soups, stews, chilis, etc, and are also good for keeping things like warm sandwiches warm.

This is just a small list of the essentials that I feel are needed to be successful in sending lunches to school with your lil one every day. If there are other things that you feel are necessary, then by all means, have it! I think it's best to have all things you may need on hand, that way if you decide to send something last-minute that requires something like the Thermos for instance, then you are not scrambling to figure out what to do in a pinch!