National Picnic Day 2019 is Tuesday, April 23

It’s finally that time of year where you can bring your family outdoors to enjoy the warm and sunny weather! Having a picnic with your family and friends is a great way to enjoy a meal, try new foods, and be outdoors.

Plus, packing your own food means healthier options and more money saved. Because your kitchen won’t be easily accessible, it’s important to plan ahead to make sure you have everything you need. Read on to see what you’ll need for an easy, delicious, and safe family picnic.

  • For storing lunch and snacks, make sure to keep cold foods cold by putting one or two ice packs inside a cooler.
  • Keep it simple and pack easy items you can eat with your hands such as apples, watermelon slices, strawberries, sandwiches, trail mix, sliced cucumbers with hummus, carrot sticks, and cheese sticks.
  • Bring a blanket for spreading out on the grass. Also don’t forget plates, garbage bags,paper towels, bug spray, and hand sanitizer.
  • Because kids can only be entertained by lunch for so long, bring along a kickball, jump rope, or Frisbee to let them get a good dose of physical activity. Music and bubbles are also entertaining!
  • Avoid sunburns by applying sunscreen 15 minutes before going outside, and reapply often.
  • It’s easy to get dehydrated when spending time outdoors. Pack everyone their own special water bottle and don’t forget to fill it with ice!

When you arrive at the picnic site, the first task is to wash your hands before preparing food.  If running water is not available, use disposable wet wipes or hand sanitizer to clean your hands before and after touching food.

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Don’t leave foods out in the sun. At the picnic, keep the cooler in the shade. Serve food quickly from the cooler and return it fast. In hot weather, above 90F, food shouldn’t sit out of the cooler over an hour.

If you’re doing any cooking, be sure to cook meat and poultry to a safe temperature as measured with a food thermometer. Just because a hamburger looks done on the outside doesn’t mean it is done on the inside. Use your food thermometer to be sure! Serve food items from the grill on a clean platter. Don’t use the same plate and utensils for cooked food that were used for the raw food. Use a clean plate and utensil set for cooked food.

Don’t forget to unpack that cooler as soon as you return home. Refrigerate leftover meats and salads which have stayed cold; discard if they have become warm.

Article partially provided by Mass Public Health Blog.