Each summer, long road trips come with some challenges. One is how to keep food safe (Affiliate Link) for everyone to eat after a few hours of driving in the hot, sticky weather. This summer, we are planning a road trip, and when researching how to take food with us, I came across these products from Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate).
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon (Affiliate Link), and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
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Products to keep food safe on the go
First, you need a container that has some insulation. It can be a hard plastic cooler with wheels or a fabric one with insulated liners. Adding ice packs to it will help keep it cold longer. Keep in mind that you will need to refreeze them when they melt if you use ice packs.
Hard Insulated Plastic Coolers for Larger Cars
The hard plastic coolers (Affiliate Link) work well but may move around unless you strap them into a particular area. It's great for minivans or SUVs where you have more floor space. If you have a pass-through crossover, something like the one below works great because the kids can reach behind them to get their food, and it doesn't need to be at their feet.
Ask yourself, how will you and your kids reach the food while you are in the vehicle? This will help you determine which one works best for you. Food in a well-insulated cooler (Affiliate Link) will help keep your food cold for several hours.
Cooler, Insulated Large Ice Chest with Portable Handles
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On the Seat Insulated Coolers
These on-the-seat insulated coolers (Affiliate Link) are great for the kid on the go. They have many pockets on the side for toys and books. And the inside can store the food for each child. Nice for kids with specific food preferences. It also works for kids who have dietary restrictions. Each child could have their own bin. This would work great in a minivan where the children can spread out.
Cooler Car Seat OrganizerMulti-Pocket Travel Insulated Drinks Holder Cooler
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Recently I did a review about Mollie Ollie (Affiliate Link) Mimmo Caddy which worked great for non-refrigerated snacks. Check the review out: 9 WAYS TO USE MOLLIE OLLIE MIMMO CADDY TO ORGANIZE YOUR LIFE
Back of the Car Seat Organizers
These back-of-the-car seat organizers (Affiliate Link) work great for smaller crossover vehicles or sedans. They give the kids places to store their drinks and snacks and their activities. Each of our children had their own back-of-the-seat storage organizer. They held things like colored pencil boxes (Affiliate Link), notepads, DVDs for the DVD player, video game devices, etc. It really helped reduce the arguing issues during the trip.
Back of the Car Seat Organizer 2 PCS
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Electric Coolers for the Car
The electric coolers for the car (Affiliate Link) above, along with the insulated pocket, helped keep drinks and water from getting too hot in the summer. I never used this one before, but it looks really neat. Add a frozen water bottle with the other drinks to keep the drinks cool, and you don't need an ice pack. =)
Electric Cooler Cooler Plug in 12V Car Cooler Bag, 26 qt (25 L)
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This electric cooler (Affiliate Link) is great for larger cars or minivans that have extra lighters to keep food cold while driving. The downside is that when you turn off the car for hours, your drinks will probably be warm. 
Electric Cooler 12 Volt Refrigerator 12V Car Fridge 21 Quart Portable
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Taking a pet with you on your vacation? These are products for your furry family. They need food and water, too. I like that this one has various areas to store pet essentials. If you have soft dog food, be sure you have a cool place to store it. You wouldn't want your pet to get sick on the road. That is not fun at all.
Below are a few additional tips to make your trip a great success.
After installing these items in your vehicle, finding the right container to fit is crucial. These reusable food pouches (Affiliate Link) are great for storing homemade baby food. Be sure to keep it in a cool place.
What's nice is that they can be washed out, reused, and stacked easily. I wish I had had these when my kids were little. We used the mini glass mason jars (Affiliate Link), which were very clunky and heavy to carry. 
Look for containers built into the coolers. Removable dividers will not work because the food will slide under them. Keeping food separated from liquid items will help them stay fresh. The containers should also be locked on several sides.
Prep Food Tips For On The Go to Keep Them Safe to Eat:
- Let hot food cool to room temperature before storing it in a cold place.
- Label (Affiliate Link) your food containers (Affiliate Link) with the name of what it is and the date they were created and stored.
- Homemade sandwiches work great. Limit cheese and other lunch meats. PB&J are great options.
- Individual packages of snacks are great for kids. However, they create more trash, but you can find rest stops to recycle or trash the wrappers.
- Look for multipurpose items. The night before leaving, freeze larger water bottles to use in larger coolers as ice packets. Then, after they melt, you can drink from them.
I hope these products will help you keep your food safe (Affiliate Link) while traveling this summer. Please share your tips below on how you protect your food while driving in the heat. I would love to hear from you.
If you are looking for some more ways to keep food safe this summer, check out these posts I found online and from our blog.
10 Mistakes to Avoid on a Road Trip, According to Experts from Travel and Leisure Magazine
20 Expert-Backed Tips For An Epic Road Trip from HuffPost
24 Useful Items for Your Family's Organized Car by Sabrina's Organizing
7 easy Tips for Packing for Long Trips by Sabrina's Organizing
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon (Affiliate Link), and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Franklin says
Thanks Sabrina. It's really great tips for people like me who travels a lot. Thank you so much for sharing such informative way of keeping foods safe.
Erica says
It is a great idea to be prepared with food when going on a long trip. If you aren't prepared, that means frequent stops at fast food restaurants which is expensive and unhealthy. I like the option of each child having their own bin. It probably leads to less fighting as well.
Doreen Pendgracs says
Thx for this terrific post, Sabrina. We are so fortunate in today's world that we have many options for transporting food that is safe and convenient. It makes it a lot more fun and a lot easier to get out there and have picnics!
William Rusho says
These are wonderful tips.
The frozen water bottle is the best little known secret. I have used that when I go hiking. Keeping another drink next to it keeps it cold, and it can be used as a compress if you ever hurt yourself.
Another tip for this, is when you are away on your trip and your pet is left home. Put a small frozen water bottle sitting in your pets water bowl. Will keep the water cool for your dog or cat all day long.
Thanks for sharing this with us.
Dan Meyers says
Thanks for the great post, this will be very relevant for us over the next few months when we take our extended road trip.
Sarah Soboleski says
I love the blue bins that fit in the backseat and have room for toys. And the plastic containers with the dividers are perfect for the kids who don't like their food touching each other!
Jeri says
I do a lot of camping and I find the containers with the snap lids you've pictured here worth their weight in gold. Regular tupperware container lids are never truly watertight, but the snap lids are so awesome. I still have yet to invest in a steel cooler, but will one of these days. It's amazing how much longer ice lasts in one of those as opposed to the more common (and affordable) plastic ones.
Ken Dowell says
Those are some pretty innovative insulated storage containers. Never really know such variety was available. I've always used the classic Coleman cooler.
Marquita Herald says
These are great tips! I especially like the cooler from Amazon, but any of these would work well for road trips - my favorite kind of travel! Thanks for the inspiration. 🙂
Liana George says
Great tips Sabrina! We don't travel much by car anymore but I will definitely be sharing these products and ideas with everyone I know that does! Wonderful post 🙂
RoseMary Griffith says
Good ideas. My brother has one of those plug-in coolers and they do work great. We've got a road trip coming up, so I'll keep these tips in mind!
Seana Turner says
Important not to end up eating spoiled food! I always wished that cars has a built-in cooler (and also self-heating cup holder). Even if I had to add the ice pack, having it built in somewhere would be so convenient!
Kristina Rylova says
Sabrina,
great advice!
Thanks for sharing it with us!
Janet Barclay says
We minimize what we need to bring by planning to shop a couple of days after we arrive at our destination. That way we only need to take enough food to last the first couple of days. We also use several small coolers, which are much easier to carry than one large one.
lenie says
Taking food along when traveling in the summer does require extra thought - your tips will help keep things safe.
Phoenicia says
Excellent tips Sabrina but I cannot help but smile as it is pouring with rain here in the UK!
With young children you cannot travel far without snacks unless you are willing to pay over and above in convenience stores.
As you have stated it is important we store foods appropriately to reduce risk of food poisoning and other sicknesses.
Catarina says
Excellent suggestions on how to keep food safe on the go, Sabrina. Grew up with my parents using coolers for anything that needed to stay cold and they worked. At least none of us got sick when we were out a whole day in our boat in the archipelago eating the food from the coolers.