A teacher from Orange who created an invention to keep yogurts and other snacks cold in lunch boxes says the invention process came as part of her recovery from a tragedy.

Terri Alves says the idea for her patent-pending product, the YogiWrap, came four years ago after she couldn't find an ice pack that would keep her daughter's yogurt truly cold in her lunchbox.

"Everywhere I searched, there wasn't a yogurt-specific icepack to my liking. So I went out and invented one starting with really rudimentary materials from Home Depot - plastic, duct tape, just made some prototypes," says Alves.

She says she implemented the idea during the spring of 2013 as she worked to recover from the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where she was a teacher.

The YogiWrap took almost three years to get to market and has been on sale since April, and Alves says she's gotten lots of good feedback.

Alves and her family moved from Newtown to Orange last year, and she now teaches at Race Brook School.

She says she's heard from customers who are using the YogiWrap for other things besides yogurt, like pudding, applesauce, baby food and medication.