Pandemic or Not, You Can Still Cook for Others

There’s no evidence COVID-19 can be transmitted via food, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Here’s how to take proper precautions:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly before cooking and after handling food packaging, e.g. after putting away your groceries or after opening a package of chicken breasts and before handling them.
2. Don’t touch your face while you’re cooking (or ever, if you can help it). If wearing a mask reminds you to avoid this maddeningly hard-to-break habit, wear one.
3. Keep your kitchen clean, regularly disinfect high touch-point areas and follow everyday food safety guidelines.
4. If you’re sick, focus on taking care of yourself. This is not pandemic-specific advice, by the way. (For the record, people who must cook while sick, such as parents caring for children, can wear face masks to lessen transmission risk.)

Want to be extra sure your intended recipient is open to accepting a home-baked treat? Why not start with a quick note along the lines of, “Hey, I overbought at the grocery, can I share with you?”

Know a heroic healthcare worker, a mom who’s doing it all on her own or a family with two kids under five? A meal dropped on their doorstep might be as close as we can get to hugging in this era of social distancing. Just don’t forget to follow up your contactless delivery with a message letting them know there’s something delicious waiting outside their front door!

• Dinner: Pick a crowd-favorite casserole, a hearty stew or roll up a batch of homemade burritos with these make-ahead meals.
• Lunch: With a big batch of pasta salad you can give the gift of a ready-to-eat lunch.
• Breakfast: Fluffy blueberry muffins, dense banana breads and hearty quiche—these baked goods make mornings just a little bit better.
• Dessert: How about a bag of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough, so they can enjoy a warm-from-the-oven cookie whenever they please?

Cooking for an expectant mother? Pregnant women seem to be at the same risk of contracting COVID-19 as other adults. Follow the guidelines at the beginning of this article and consult the CDC’s website for more information.

Create your own meal kit complete with recipe and ingredients—just like subscription boxes, but even better. With a DIY meal kit, you get to share the secret sauce that makes your lasagna the best in town or the cookie recipe everyone adores. A meal like this can double as a fun activity for bored teens or for families who enjoy cooking together.

• Pizza night in! Make Betty’s foolproof pizza dough and pack it up with a can of pizza sauce, lots of shredded mozzarella and whatever other toppings you think will strike their fancy. Set them up for dessert too by adding in the ingredients for an easy recipe, like Salted Caramel-Chocolate Banana Skillet Brownie.
• Nachos for dinner? No one will be mad about this, especially when you deliver the slow-cooked beef barbacoa, queso, chips and their favorite fixings, so it’s just a matter of assembly—sounds like a great job for a kid looking for something to do, right? Better yet, pack the makings for a dessert that’s easy enough for a kid to throw together, like three-ingredient Triple Chip Cookie Bars.
• Dump-and-Go Meatball Lasagna is a low-ingredient recipe that’s totally adaptable. If you’ve got a bag of your signature Italian meatball in the freezer, now is the perfect time to share them. Stick to the theme by sending along the ingredients for Spumoni Chunk Cookies—this decadent treat is a breeze to throw together.

Far-away loved ones might seem farther away than ever before. Bridge the distance with a care package stuffed full of their favorite homemade treats. We can’t think of a better way to brighten someone’s day. If you suspect kids might be the first ones to open your package, include a note reminding them to wash their hands before they dig in—you won’t be there to see the eyerolls!

• Our Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies are two favorites that travel well. For more cookies that are sturdy enough to survive shipping, check out our How to Mail Cookies article.
• Homemade candies, like Salted Caramels are also a great option when you’re sending a care package.
• Since your treats will be unrefrigerated, avoid dairy-rich ingredients or delicate textures. Frosted cookies, meringues and the like are better saved for another occasion.

Tell us what you end up cooking and who you shared your homemade goodness with, and of course, ask any questions below. If you’d like more information about food safety and coronavirus, check the FAQs on the CDC’s website. Be well!