Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) Ladies, he has Type II diabetes but is generally quite healthy. He has had a recent setback, though, and he just doesn't want to have to cook for himself anymore. I know there are food plans that make meal prep easy. These companies send you everything you need for a meal, and you only have to provide minimal effort to have one ready. He is in a very small town. There is a super Walmart, and a few grocery stores, but that's it. There is no Whole Foods, etc... However, I'm open to shopping where I live which has specialty stores and then shipping to him. I need to consider all options. Can anyone help me brainstorm some possibilities or offer opinions from experience? I would like information on companies that offer this kind of service as well as options through Amazon, Whole Foods, etc... I know nothing about this at this point. I'm at the beginning of my research. Edited June 3, 2019 by Sweet Home Alabama 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Have you looked into Meals on Wheels? I ask because my parents live in a very small town (one stoplight, only has a Dollar General store + a local grocery, etc.) but they have ready access to Meals on Wheels through the county adult aging department. If one has a medical diagnosis (Type II diabetes would qualify), they can have the meals made to a medical standard (ie--low carb, to a specific calorie count, etc.). In our county's case, the meals are prepared by a county hospital and driven to the town in a warmer. There are other community options for them, but they are specific to the region. My point is, look to his county and see if they have a list of compiled resources. It can save you a lot of legwork, and it is likely to be much easier and less expensive than dealing with meal kits. (IME, even doing local grocery delivery of very easy meal components won't necessarily translate into eating healthy meals. That sort of thing is very helpful for sending yogurts for breakfast, carrots & cheese & nuts for healthy snacking, and some freezer meals/canned soups to stock the pantry in case of bad weather. The meal kits just never made it into meals IME.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 Thank you, Prairiewindmomma. I just checked. There is no Meals on Wheels where he lives. I've just called and left messages with three councils on aging in my area. Hopefully someone will call soon. I appreciate your suggestion! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Oh, I also meant to ask (and you don't need to answer)--what kind of budget are you working with? When we priced it out, having someone to come in and prepare simple meals was a lot less expensive than meal kits....they could do a couple of weeks of meal prep at a time in a few hours. Most of the agencies we worked through charged $25/hr. You can have them work through different meal plans, and if you do freezer friendly meals, leftover portions can be frozen for easy reheating later on. Freshly is probably the meal service I'd point you to as the meals are fully prepared...I think it's $108/week for 12 meals.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 I think the ones where they send uncooked ingredients to make it yourself would still be too much work. Opening packages and doing cooking and cleaning even if measuring and deciding is eliminated. But some services have premium already made frozen meals which could be good. Or excellent quality grocery frozen meals. perhaps leaving him with casseroles some areas have someone who will deliver cooked meals for a price or come in and cook 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Is Schwann's home delivery available in his area? I have found that that generation really likes those basic foods. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Is he close enough that you can take him a bag of frozen foods from Trader Joes that he can just warm up? They have nice things that are good for single person sizes. It's what I did with my MIL after my FIL passed and she didn't want to eat/cook. Bummer about no meals on wheels. Transitions are very hard on the elderly, but this can also be a time when some move into assisted living. They get carefully prepared meals, housekeeping, socialization, but they're still independent and able to drive, shop, etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 I was going to suggest Freshly too. Also, if there is a senior home in or near his town, sometimes they have food delivery options for the elderly or homebound. This is what my parents did for awhile last winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, Sweet Home Alabama said: Ladies, he has Type II diabetes but is generally quite healthy. He has had a recent setback, though, and he just doesn't want to have to cook for himself anymore. I know there are food plans that make meal prep easy. These companies send you everything you need for a meal, and you only have to provide minimal effort to have one ready. He is in a very small town. There is a super Walmart, and a few grocery stores, but that's it. There is no Whole Foods, etc... However, I'm open to shopping where I live which has specialty stores and then shipping to him. I need to consider all options. Can anyone help me brainstorm some possibilities or offer opinions from experience? I would like information on companies that offer this kind of service as well as options through Amazon, Whole Foods, etc... I know nothing about this at this point. I'm at the beginning of my research. My mother is in a similar situation. I cook healthful meals for her and package them into individual servings, so that she has dinner available and just has to add a roll and some microwave veggies. You could do a similar thing. If you live far away, you could bring the food, already frozen into individual packages, to him once per month, or ship on dry ice. Edited June 3, 2019 by Reefgazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Home Alabama Posted June 4, 2019 Author Share Posted June 4, 2019 Wow! Thank you all so much for such wonderful ideas! I had to be away for the afternoon, and I'm just now reading most of the comments. I will have to review them tomorrow because I'm just to tired to process everything now. If I have follow up questions, I'll post then. I REALLY appreciate your help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okra Posted June 4, 2019 Share Posted June 4, 2019 (edited) Hello Fresh or similar service would be too hard for my MIL. I do try to cook for her sometimes, but, When she eats on her own she eats: pre-packages salads with everything included on them. They have some nice ones in the refrigerated section Nice canned soups Tuna sandwiches Steam in the microwave veggies with sauce already on the veggies Microwave popcorn chicken Nice TV dinners Oatmeal - the prepackaged regular kind...no measuring. No sugars. Blueberries and strawberries which aren't too bad for diabetics Precooked bacon or sausage to eat with eggs. Also, when I'm there sometimes I make her some hard-boiled eggs which she likes to snack on and last for a long time in the fridge. Cereal They also have a pasta salad deli bar at our grocery that she likes, and sometimes she buys fried or rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Cheese and crackers Hope this helps some Edited June 4, 2019 by Okra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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