The insulated lunch cooler is relatively new but the idea of keeping foods cold goes back to the mid 1800's. It started off by hauling ice to homes and stores from hundreds of miles away. In the 1950's the Colman Company developed a plastic lined cooler which helped insulate food better, and keep things cooler longer. Around this same time the Aladdin Company developed the lunch bag. Since then there have been many twists on ideas that have led to the development of the insulated lunch cooler.

The purpose of keeping your food cool is mainly to help prevent harmful bacteria from growing in to large populations. The most common bacteria we hear of, is salmonella. Anyone who has had food poisoning can share with you how awful it can be. We can clean and cook our food to kill most bacteria but it is never 100%. So it is important to keep those remaining bacteria from multiplying and making us sick. That is one of the main reasons we want to keep our food cool. Keeping our food cool can also help prevent it from spoiling. Mayonnaise can go bad in a matter of 30 minutes on a hot day. But it is also nice to have cold pudding instead of a pudding soup.

Today there are over 30 types of insulated coolers and bags. But the insulated lunch cooler, is in our opinion, the best choice for most people. It allows you to pack as little or as much food as you want, depending on its size. They come in different sizes so you can easily pack a lunch for 2 or 3 people. They are usually made of durable fabrics on the outside such as poly nylon. The inside will be a combination of plastic and insulating foil materials. Some insulated lunch coolers come with special pockets for ice packs, so be sure to keep that in mind when shopping for one. 

You may be asking, "Where would I use an insulated lunch cooler?" You would use them from picnics, time out on the boat, at school or work. Many times at work there isn't enough room in their small refrigerators for everyone's food. So you are left leaving your lunch out only to become warm and possible dangerous. At school you may want to keep your lunch in your locker so it doesn't become tampered with. These are the perfect places to use an insulated lunch cooler.