Posted: 8/10/2008 4:13:48 PM EDT
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My wife and I want to do something nice for the guys at one of the local fire stations. These guys took good care of my Mom a number of times in the last year. My Mom was living in an independent living facility until she passed away last month. There are ~120 apartments, so the guys at the local station visit there quite frequently. We wanted to do something to say thanks to them for taking care of my Mom as well as her friends, so we are bringing the 3 shifts dinner over 3 consecutive nights. I don't have any idea what you guys normally eat on your shift. We were trying to think of a couple of things that would travel and reheat well, in case they have to go out on a call. We're also trying to bring something they wouldn't normally eat. Here are our two ideas so far. 1. Rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, salad w/ home grown tomatoes, sweet tea and apple pie 2. Veal parmigiana, spaghetti, steamed broccoli, salad w/ home grown tomatoes, sweet tea and apple pie Any other meal ideas? My wife was thinking meatloaf, but I figured you guys probably fix that for yourselves since it is pretty easy to make. |
First off, thanks for the kind offer! Its always nice when people show their appreciation  Second, I would check first that the firefighters are allowed to accept 'gifts', especially home made food gifts. I know it sounds dumb, but some departments don't allow their firefighters to accept ANYTHING from the public that could be construed as a gift, and some might not allow homemade food gifts (there was a story here locally where brownies laced with LSD were given to some cops). Now as far as food goes, firefighters will eat pretty much anything, and a LOT of it. Your ideas sound yummy. Normally we all chip in $10 at the beginning of the shift and go to the store to buy the days food, so on the day you would be bringing it, it would be a good idea to let them know fairly early so that they don't make dinner plans. Again thanks for thinking of us poor, neglected hose jockeys 
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What a great thing to do... we've had everything from home-made cookies to full dinners brought to us by the citizens in our area, and they're never turned down. Whatever you take would be greatly appreciated and enjoyed. I think it's great that you're doing that for them... it really means a lot, trust me. And a huge +1 on the ice cream... it's a firehouse staple. 
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Just yesterday, we had someone we ran on, bring us a Honeybaked ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans and biscuts. For desert...it was Dutch Apple pie (I like pie) and home made vanilla ice cream............mmmmmmmmmmgooooooood. Make sure you know how many will be on duty. |
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1) You already figured this out, but........ Make sure you don't bring the food in one day and trust that the crew on duty that day will give any of it to the other two shifts. It won't happen. If you want to make sure everyone gets some, you will have to go there three times. What it is, isn't all that important. They absolutely will appreciate the gesture and will enjoy whatever you bring. Not that this matters but, "but I figured you guys probably fix that for yourselves since it is pretty easy to make. " Most fire stations spend a significant part of the day planning meals, shopping for meals, cooking meals, and cleaning up after meals. Every station has at least a couple guys that are VERY good cooks. Easy to make usually isn't in the equation. Again, that doesn't have any bearing on what you bring in, just pointing out something. This isn't like the stereotype bachelor men that can't boil water without their mother or a woman to do it for them. We eat like kings. If you don't know how to cook when you get on, you WILL learn. |
| Anything you bring to say thanks would be appreciated. These days, after I bug a shift for a ride along I always bring in pie and ice cream. I always found it nice and very thoughtful when members of the community brought us food when I was still playing firefighter. Just having them stop in to say thanks was greatly appreciated. |
You obviously haven't seen too many firefighters
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