Packing Food for a 37 Hour Road Trip

Dry Ice - you can get it at many grocery stores these days. Wrap it in several layers of newspaper and put it on top of the food (since cold air sinks)

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I'm not sure if you're planning to stay at a hotel or camp, but when I was a kid and we traveled from NY to South Dakota, my mom used to freeze chili and beef stew, and then heat them up over a camp stove for dinners (even if we were at a hotel - she'd just set up on the back of our trunk in the parking lot). We'd also have some kind of canned vegetable, and I remember the canned corn not being so bad. She'd just bring pb&j and fruit and crackers for lunches, and those little cereal boxes (which have a lining that can serve as a bowl) for breakfasts. She'd pre-make banana bread and chocolate chip cookies for treats.

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I just took a 4 hour road trip with my 20 month old and I cute up lunch meat and cheese and gave her that. It filled her up for her nap on the road and it wasn't too messy.
Enjoy your trip =O)

Keep in mind that you can also stop to buy the more perishable things (like milk) on the way at convenience and grocery stores. Also, you can freeze grapes or strawberries to use as ice and then eat when they thaw.

I was going to suggest freezing stuff or using dry ice, and I see others have already suggested that. I saw the other good suggestions about cargo and splitting the food stuffs.

My only other suggestion would be to drive as much as possible while the children are sleeping. It will make your life easier. My husband and I traveled from No. Ca to Eastern Washington a two winters ago with our 2 year old and two dogs. While our son was awake, we had to stop frequently to let him get out and walk around. We made the best time during sleep time.

Good Luck

I recommend canned foods, so you don't have to worry about things melting or going bad. That's what we've always done for camping trips. Things like: soup, chili, stew, spaghettios (for the kids), canned fruit. Just remember to bring a can opener and microwaveable bowls (or a pot if you are going to cook over a campfire or portable stove). Also, there are also lots of hand packaged foods that are intended to be microwaved and eaten in the packaging that they come in.

There are four kids in my family and my parents always cut costs on road trips by buying a big loaf of french bread, some cheese and some salami and they would just break-up the bread with their hands and pass back big pieces of cheese and salami. My husband and I like to do the same except we might b-b-q a tri-tip the night before and take that with us in the cooler too. It is great cold with bread and cheese. Yummy!