Les,
To maintain the temperature of food that's already cold you want larger pieces of ice, not cubes. Block ice is preferred.
Even better is refilling disposable soda/water/gatorade bottles with water and freezing them -- just squeeze out about 10% of the water after filling to allow room for expansion as they freeze. Since the melt water is contained within the bottle your food doesn't get wet and the temperature at the bottom of the cooler stays closer to freezing.
I also use plastic bottles but find that Powerade bottles with their thicker plastic and design, better withstand elevation changes from sea level to several thousands of feet in elevation changes and vice versa. The Gatorade type, after some trips, develop leaks after the thin PET plastic expands and contracts from the elevation differences.
Not a worry for most but something to keep in mind for those while traveling in mountainous country.
_________________________
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.
John Lubbock
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