Kitchen Chats with Aimee Kandrac Episode 2: Gifting Food (That’s Not Lasagna)

When a life-changing event happens, one of the first things friends and family think about is food. So what better person to talk about food with than Mandy Selke, the owner of Just Pop In!, a gourmet popcorn business beloved in Indianapolis. On the episode, Mandy and Aimee share creative ideas for gifting food in both hard and joyful times. You’ll also learn food options that don’t involve cooking and practical packaging ideas.

Episode Highlights

Food is more than just a meal.

Food is Mandy's love language. On the episode, Mandy describes food as medicine, an act of service, and art.

“Things taste better when it’s gifted to you by love,” Mandy said. “There’s a deposit that’s being developed for you. It’s like, ‘Wow, isn’t that wonderful.’”

When gifting someone food, a few helpful things to consider are:

• What’s going on in their life?
• What colors do they love?
• What food allergies or intolerances do they have?

Make a comfort food that isn’t lasagna.

When Aimee got home from the hospital with her son, all of her friends showed up at the house with lasagna. Their family had so much lasagna they ran out of space in their freezer to store them all, and she had to keep track of which glass lasagna container belonged to which friend.

While Mandy loves lasagna and has fond memories of making it with her family, she suggested making a dish of your family’s favorite comfort food. That way, you can share something unique that your family also loves.

“You can say, ‘It’s a nourishing meal for us, so hopefully, by gifting it to you, it will do the same for your family,’” she said.

How to gift food when you don’t cook

Food is not everyone’s love language, but even if you don’t cook, you can still give a meal to a friend going through a hard time. One of the most popular ways to give food nowadays is through food delivery services like DoorDash and UberEats.

“They can pick and choose when they want food, when they need it, so they don’t have a freezer full of seven lasagnas,” Mandy said.

Additional no-cook meal ideas to consider:

• Tray of sandwiches
• Breakfast basket with fruit, bagels, and grab-and-go bars
• Dry ingredients that are easy to put together
• Grocery meal deal
• Drink kit with alcohol or hot chocolate
• Gift card to their favorite restaurant

Don’t forget the packaging.

If you’re like Mandy, the presentation of food can elevate the entire experience for the giver and receiver. But good packaging is also functional for the person you’re giving food to. Aimee suggests using recyclable containers, so the receiver doesn’t feel pressured to return anything to you.

“Having food is such a privilege,” Mandy said. “It doesn’t have to be fancy. It’s just thoughtful.”

Resources + Links

• Just Pop In!
• Aimee Kandrac: Website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
• WhatFriendsDo: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

About Aimee and WhatFriendsDo 

Aimee Kandrac is a speaker, consultant, and the co-founder and CEO of WhatFriendsDo. Her work is instrumental for organizing support during life-changing events, and she speaks to organizations about creative ways to help friends and family during times of crisis. Aimee has been recognized as a Top 50 Mompreneur by Babble.com and is the first female CEO in the state of Indiana to close a $500,000 funding round. She has been featured in Forbes, Time, the LA Times, Oprah.com, the Indianapolis Star, and more.

WhatFriendsDo is a simpler way to create organized and actionable support during a time of crisis. The free, online platform empowers healthcare facilities, HR departments, families, and friends to easily coordinate meals, errands, transportation, childcare, communication, and more for those in the midst of a life-changing event. The women-founded and women-led company started as a solution for a friend with terminal cancer. WhatFriendsDo is based out of Indianapolis.