Advice needed on shipping food.

[EFerrari]

I want to be able to send entries up to two elderly relatives on a weekly basis who live about 90 minutes away. One lives alone with a caregiver who isn't much of a cook. The other is part of a couple that is really busy and might enjoy a treat (or a break) on Friday nights. It might be fun for them if I could only figure out the shipping part.

I wouldn't like to freeze anything because the texture goes south. So, what are the options? Packing in ice overnight? I've never done anything like this, have only shipped candy and cookies where the perishable part wasn't an issue.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions?

[Denninmi]

1. It sounds like a nice gesture, but perhaps not practical.

I assume you're talking about something you've made yourself. From a food safety standpoint, this sounds tricky -- basically, you would need to freeze it, which you said you didn't want to do. And you would probably need to pack on dry ice and ship overnight -- very pricey.

Instead, what about either sending them commercial made canned and packaged items that don't need refrigeration, or gift cards for some local eateries that might work for them, especially for places that might deliver?

[GoCubsGo]

7. That would be my suggestion, too.

There are some fairly decent shelf-stable meals on the market, especially in the ethnic foods. Kitchens of India is one such company. I understand that Trader Joe' also has some that are fairly good meals. I vaguely remember seeing some Indian and possibly some Asian shelf-stable meal at Target, as well. If you have a Whole Foods or its equivalent nearby, I'm suspect you can find meals there, too. At the very least, they have those Fantastic Foods "meal in a cup" dehydrated soups and stews. And, there's always amazon.com...

I agree with the safety issues, too. There are a bunch of businesses that sell prepared frozen meals from famous restaurants, etc. One such place: http://www.tastesofchicago.com/, which sells frozen Lou Malnati' pizza, Vienna hot dog and Italian beef sandwich "kits", Eli's cheesecakes, Carson's ribs, and others. They even have combination packages. A bit price, but price includes shipping. I know there are other Internet stores like this out there, but I can't think of them offhand. If I remember any, I'll post them.

[elleng]

2. We called them 'freezies,'

little ones used in lunch boxes, larger for picnics and beach, plastic thingies containing some sort of chemical which we stored in freezer. They come in various sizes.

Wouldn't do ice; it MELTS, and even if you're driving, one never knows.

Nice thing, you're doing, EF!

[EFerrari]

4. Freezies? LOL! Where do you get them?

I know people do this, I just need to figure out how they do it.

[elleng]

6. Grocery stores, kids/toy stores, all over!

Can't find daughters now, so can't check w them, but they're ALL OVER. Called COLD.Pack!
http://www.uline.com/BL_2158/Cold-Packs?pricode=wj41&gclid=CLjr1Jv5360CFUMTNAodUS5c6A
Friend just suggested: Frozen bag of PEAS!!!

[EFerrari]

8. Got it. Thanks.

[maddezmom]

3. I'd think you can do it if the overnight fees aren't unreasonable

I agree with elleng about using the reusable packets or you could make your own using double or triple ziplocks. And another thing you could pack with are those stryo popcorn things as they also would help to keep things cooled without using a cooler. You'd probably have to retrieve them after a bit to reuse.

Good luck, sounds like a nice idea and hope it works out for all. )

[EFerrari]

5. I thought about packing stuff into a little styro cooler

but in the end, that would mean that little cooler would have to come back eventually, although I don't know how much they cost but tend to hate styro in all forms. My brother is up in the area of one relative and he would go fetch for me there but the other one is in the opposite direction and nothing I send up there will ever come back. (Hmm. Maybe I'm overlooking an opportunity there. )

[grasswire]

9. shipping is sooooooo expensive

It might be even cheaper to find a good market that delivers, or even a restaurant that delivers, and pay with a credit card from afar.

In our town, there's a restaurant delivery service. Order by phone, and the service picks up the food and delivers it.