Whenever someone I know has a baby or has a meal train, I jump at the opportunity to join. I know how amazing it was to have been given food after the birth of my son, and I want to be able to give that gift to others. But a big struggle I’ve had is with the containers to put the food into. I don’t want to have to inconvenience the person receiving the food by making them wash the dish and remember to return it. I have done that and I feel awful. But I also don’t want to give them a million one-use items to throw away. Instead I have come up with a bunch of ideas to give food containers with no intention of getting them back.
Vintage Casserole Dish
Purchase some old casserole dishes from a thrift store or garage sale and clean them well. Fill them with your meal. Make sure that the recipient knows you do not expect the dish back.
Mason Jars
Fill an extra large mason jar with the meal. This works great for soups and curries.
Beeswax Wrap
You can buy these or make them yourself and cover a real or paper plate with it. If you don’t want the plate or wrap back, make sure you let them know. These work similar to saran wrap, but they are a quarter of the hassle and a great gift to give.
Plastic Food Storage
Purchase some disposable plastic containers like ones you get from takeout. Unfortunately, these are usually single use and then take up a lot of space in a trash can.
Reusable Plastic Food Storage
Buy some Ziploc or hefty plastic containers to bring to the recipient. Make sure they know they can keep them.
Tinfoil Pans
Buy some roasting pans, cake pans, or any kind to fill with the meal. Get containers with plastic or tinfoil lids or cover with tinfoil.
Cardboard Takeout Box
Purchase some cardboard takeout boxes in bulk and use them to fill with food whenever you bring a meal to someone. These can fold flat and easily be thrown away or recycled.
Reasons To Bring A Meal To Someone
There can be dozens of reasons someone may want or need meals brought to them here are just a few.
- Illness
- Injury
- Surgery
- Elderly
- New neighbor
- Spouse on a trip or deployed
- Birth of a child
- Adoption
- Death of a close relative
Popular Websites For Scheduling When To Bring Meals
Other Tips
- Make sure to label what the food you bring is
- Make sure that you know any food restrictions or preferences before bring a meal to someone
- Include any instructions that are needed
- Write a note or letter of encouragement
- You can even bring an additional meal as a freezer meal- freeze it in a tinfoil pan or flat in a plastic Ziploc freezer bag
Meal Ideas
- Butternut squash curry
- Yellow curry
- Whole 30 chicken soup
- Tortellini soup
- Snickerdoodles
- Quadruple chocolate chip peanut butter cookies
