Submitted by Okmicah t3_z4h6eh in philadelphia
Hey Philly, my neighbor just had a death in their immediate family. I want to drop off pre-made meals to them so they don't have to think about cooking for a little. Are there any restaurants that do meal kits or good frozen meals?
Also, please send recommendations for anything besides pre-made meals that might help someone going through a loss in the family.
Thanks!
Exactly this! Send a giant lasagna, some mac and cheese, roasted brussels sprouts, sloppy joe or pulled pork/beef with a bag of buns. Something that's hearty, comforting, will serve multiple people, and doesn't need any prep other than heat and eat.
My thoughts exactly.
You can also send a food delivery gift card. I sent a doordash gift card to my friend who was caring for her brother after he was hit by a car. I wasn't around to physically help but with the gc they could just order whatever they wanted for a few meals
Honestly part of the hardest part of losing someone is that you only realize everything they did when they aren’t around to do it anymore.
For example, my uncle used to help us close our pool every summer and then suddenly there was nobody to help and it just felt like a wave of grief every time it was time to close the pool. This can be hard to do as a neighbor especially if you live in the city, but if there’s anything you noticed their family member used to do like shovel their front front steps or rake the leaves or whatever, it’s a nice gesture to try to step up to fill that role once in a while.
Another thing that helps is also just reminders that you remmeber their loved one (if you knew them) or that you remember your neighbor lost a loved one. Even if it’s just a card around the holidays or flowers every few months saying thinking of you. It can be hard to watch the world move on while you’re still grieving and your world was turned upside down. It seems like the world grieves for the first month, but after that it’s just you grieving and everybody else has moved on and forgotten about it.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I’ll think of ways we can help fill some small void in their lives.
Talluto's has a lot of frozen meals available.
They also sell a giant bucket of meatballs that are super easy to heat up for a quick meal.
When my neighbor's wife died he always kept really good care of his yard. So one Saturday morning me and my brother got up raked up all his leaves cut his grass trimmed his hedges for him he was so appreciative of that he said he couldn't bear to go out there and do it
Amazing. I think that’s a great way help them out.
Home Appetit is good and local to Philly
I originally found them when buying meals for a colleague whose spouse had died, but I buy a lot of meals for myself now too. The food is very good and it's local. You can buy gift certificates (which I think are on sale right now) so the person could choose their own meals from the menu (or, it might be better for you to choose if they're not too internet savvy, like an elderly person). Delivery is only on Monday afternoon/evenings and you have to order by 10pm Friday (tonight).
Agreed, I've used this service. It's not cheap but very reasonable for the quality and quantity of food you get. Seems like a service that takes good care of their employees too.
Thank you!
You’re a wonderful person for looking out for your neighbor.
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One nice (and easy) thing to do is bring breakfast to the family the day of the funeral. It’s a time when family is gathering but no one wants to think about getting food. Bagels and cream cheese, some donuts, OJ. Bonus that they can have it at any time.
if they have young children, it would be nice if you could take the kids for an hour or so once in a while just so they can "let their guard down" and openly grieve without upserting the kids
JTAx1995 t1_ixqship wrote
Honestly, if you do homemade meal kits it’s very easy to do. I made a whole stack of them for my friends when they were in need. You fill those silver disposable tray and people can just put them in the oven to heat. Simple and easy.