Five Tips for Taking Food With You When Traveling

Ethan Gibble is a content specialist and blogger for the WEBstaurant Store Restaurant Supplies. He researches and writes about issues facing the restaurant industry on a local, national, and global scale.

By Ethan Gibble

There are many different reasons to take food with you while you travel. Maybe you're going taking a contribution to a nearby party or a distant relative's picnic, or maybe you just want a quick snack to get you cheerfully from Point A to Point B. Whatever the case may be, there are a few things to keep in mind when traveling with food, and they can be summed up in two words: Safety and efficiency. Here are five tips to maintain these ideals while on the road!

1. First and foremost--portion appropriately! You may have committed to bringing a certain item to a party or picnic, but wasted food is a major concern for everyone, and can be avoided by planning accordingly. Of course there is the old saying that you would rather have too much than too little, but just don't go overboard. This will lessen the load you will need to carry and will also lessen the chances of the food eventually spoiling.

2. If you have hot and/or cold foods and are traveling a reasonable distance to reach your destination, it is important to ensure that your food arrives as delicious as it was when you first set off on your trip. For cold foods, that will likely mean investing in a foam cooler and a few freeze packs, while hot foods can be kept piping hot by surrounding them with a few freshly-microwaved hot or cold packs.

3. Your third tip is simple enough, and a common mistake for many travelers--don't put your cooler in the trunk! If there are space restrictions and that's the only place it can go, that is fine, but otherwise you're just quickening the warmup process of all the items your trying to keep
chilled.

4. If you're going to large gatherings, it's always far too easy for your dishes to be broken, left behind or, "accidentally" taken home by that-guy-you-think-is-your-second-cousin. Instead, concoct your creation within an aluminum foil pan so that you can take comfort in the fact that your dishes weren't meant to go home with you.

5. Finally, another tip for taking food with you when traveling is to maintain vehicular cleanliness! There's a reason that cars are being built with more and more cupholders these days, and that is because we are constantly in a hurry and forced to eat while on a road. Why not keep your vehicle both crumb and stain free by keeping a few luncheon napkins
tucked away in your glove compartment?