10 Every Occasion Care Packages For The Ultimate Food Lover (Slideshow)
For a hungry college student, include a couple of easy snacks that are compatible with busy schedules and late-night study sessions. The student in your life is also probably starting a kitchen for the first time, so a few handy prep tools are a welcome and thoughtful inclusion. College students aren't known for their deep pockets, so including a gift card to restaurant they wouldn't be able to afford on their own — or even just a nearby coffee shop — will round out the package. But our top recommendation? A starter collection of spices, which can be very expensive to buy all at once on a student budget.
Pack it up:
Browne-Halco Stainless-Steel Measuring Cups
Get Well Soon
A food-loving friend stricken with a rough cold or the flu might not be all that interested in eating, but this package will bolster them until they're well enough to get back in the kitchen. Send them some comfort with herbal tea and raw honey for their sore throat, crystallized ginger and artisan crackers to calm their stomachs, and a high-quality soup mix to warm them up.
Pack it up:
Bob's Red Mill Breakfast & Lunch Pack
Bee Raw's Herbals Gone Wild Set
Thanksgiving
For the favorite holiday of many food lovers, send things that taste like an American fall: dried cranberries, spicy-sweet nut butter, a big jar of mulling spices, crispy gingersnaps, and pie-like pumpkin butter. Your friend — especially if they are spending time outside the U.S. — will definitely be thankful.
Pack it up:
Eden Organic Dried Cranberries
Big Spoon Roasters Chai Spice Nut Butter
Williams-Sonoma Mulling Spices
Chico Chai Tea Loose Leaf Chai
Military Gift
Some of the people most in need and deserving of a care package are the men and women in our military forces . Make one lucky soldier's day by sending a care package full of gourmet versions of the foods recommended to send to soldiers. You can't send the troops anything home-cooked due to health concerns, so instead, send high-energy, prepackaged comfort foods from home like energy bars, trail mixes, granola, and jerky. Sending gourmet peanut butter, harvest dried fruit, and American pole-caught tuna fish that they can't get overseas is a great way to deliver a piece of home. And don't forget, small modern comforts like chewing gum can really make a dramatic difference. For detailed instructions on how to send a care package to a service member, click here.
Pack it up:
Field Trip Jerky All-Natural Beef Jerky
Epic Bar all-natural protein bars
Squirrel Brand Town & Country Mix
Peanut Butter & Co. Crunch Time Peanut Butter
Valentine's Day
Woo your special someone with treats said to have aphrodisiac qualities, like dried figs, high-quality olive oil, and pomegranates (here, in the form of pomegranate molasses). Toss in heart-shaped cookie cutters for the requisite dose of cute. And you couldn't send a Valentine's Day package without chocolate — the one we've included has love poems printed onto the inside of its wrappers.
Pack it up:
Columela Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Wedding
If you can't make it to a friend's wedding, and want to stray from the gift registry. Send a hand-packed and personally curated collection of everything the happy couple will need to host their first cocktail party once they're back from the honeymoon. Start with a slate cheese board and printed linen napkins. Then pile in some saucisson sec, American-produced olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a box of flaky sea salt.
Pack it up:
St. Helena Olive Oil Co. Balsamic Vinegar of Modena
Just Because
Everyone loves brunch. Pack a faraway friend everything he or she will need to make a homemade pancake breakfast, including the mix (made with organic, traceable wheat), dried blueberries, and rich maple syrup. A bag of Rhode Island-roasted espresso, spreadable goat's milk caramel, and apricot jam will add decadent flavor to your loved one's future mid-morning.
Pack it up:
Catskill Provisions Organic Pancakes & Waffle Mix
Fat Toad Farm Goat's Milk Caramel
Dave's Coffee The Blind Pig Espresso
Heartbroken
Help a heartbroken friend eat his or her feelings by sending a few tasty things to take their mind off the pain. Excellent chocolate is a must; the one we've picked to include was a 2013 SOFI (specialty outstanding food innovation) Finalist. Great tea, coffee roasted in New York, and a funky engraved flask will deliver all forms of liquid comfort. Additions like chewy, complexly flavored caramels will bring the needed sweetness, and an ice cream scoop to help with carton-to-mouth indulgence is a must.
Pack it up:
Holiday
Know someone who can't make it home for the holidays — or can't make it home yourself? Send some warmth with spicy holiday favorites like thick apple butter, single-origin coffee, and spiced nuts. A jar of nuts soaking in honey will be a rich addition to your friend's hot cereal or holiday party cheese plate.
Pack it up:
Birthday
If you can't be there to celebrate a friend's birthday, pack a party into a box and send it their way. Include treats like a mix of sweet snacks such as hand-rolled, stretched, and cut hard candy with a tiny birthday message inside. Boozy artisan marshmallows and a few fun baking accents like shimmery gold candles and printed cupcake papers will add pizzazz and fun to your gift.
Pack it up:
Gold Mini Taper Birthday Candles
Sugar Knife's Boozy Marshmallows
Papabubble Candy "Happy Birthday" Mix
Paper Chevron Cupcake Liners From PaperStrawsParty on Etsy