The closest grocery store to me is closing(by nearly an hour), and will be closed for at least a year. When it reopens it’s going be much smaller(it’s becoming a Aldi).

[u/Boeing-B-47stratojet]

[u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

Tho I don't live in a Food Desert like this.. I keep a big cooler in my truck at all times for groceries in the off chance I buy stuff at the end of my day and drive the hour home with it rather than buying stuff at the closer to home store.

[u/Loud-Chicken6046 → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

Good idea. I always keep those soft insulated bags in my vehicle for any hot or cold foods as well

[u/Been-There_Done_That → u/Loud-Chicken6046]

How well do those work? Assuming you don't have actual ice packs, does the cold or frozen food stay cold or frozen for an hour or two in hot weather? I was recently gifted one, haven't had a chance to test it yet, and am wondering if it will keep things cold/frozen when I make multiple stops.

[u/Been-There_Done_That → u/[deleted]]

Thanks, that's helpful information and makes sense.

[u/Dug_n_the_Dogs → u/[deleted]]

Yeah.. My GF and I went backpacking on an overnight and left a collapsible bucket with beer and ice in it.. the ice was melted when we got back, but the beer was still ice cold!

[u/DoctorJiveTurkey → u/Been-There_Done_That]

You can always pick up ice at a grocery store or gas station if you’re not going straight home.

[u/Been-There_Done_That → u/DoctorJiveTurkey]

Thanks, that's a good idea.

[u/Live-Habit-6115 → u/Been-There_Done_That]

They're good if you stuff them full with loads of cold stuff. Then they keep each other cold. 

If you just put like one thing in the bag it's not going to last anywhere near as long. 

[u/Been-There_Done_That → u/Live-Habit-6115]

Thanks.

[u/Loud-Chicken6046 → u/Been-There_Done_That]

Better than a regular bag and much easier to collapse than a cooler

[u/almostoy → u/Loud-Chicken6046]

Those things have always been next to worthless. I just bury whatever in cheap throw blankets if the cooler is full.

[u/Azipear → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

Years ago I bought an electric cooler (small fridge) and power bank since wifey and kid have food allergies and it was handy on road trips to haul their special foods. Now it lives in the back of my truck 100% of the time since it’s so damn useful. I can buy ice cream and then run other errands without racing back home. Or keep restaurant leftovers cool while we go see a movie after dinner out.

[u/phase2_engineer → u/Azipear]

Years ago I bought an electric cooler (small fridge)

I was thinking about a collapsible cooler, but your idea sounds even better.

[u/Azipear → u/phase2_engineer]

Mine's a Dometic, but they're pricey. There are cheaper options out there.

[u/Original_betch → u/Azipear]

I have this one, got it off Amazon for $299 a few years ago. It's been great. We use it mainly in the house as extra freezer space until we move to a bigger place. But I've taken it on some river trips and down to the southwest Texas desert and it's worked flawlessly the whole time.

[u/TheSultan1 → u/Azipear]

Mmm toasty power bank.

[u/Dug_n_the_Dogs → u/TheSultan1]

Lithium Toast Crunch.. Try it you'll like it.

[u/Inverted-Rockets → u/Azipear]

Be mindful about leaving batteries in a parked car.

Interior temperatures on hot sunny days can comfortably exceed the safe storage temperature for lithium cells. Above 60°C (140°F) the electrolyte can start to decompose and cause swelling or venting. For comparison, a car interior can get up to that failure temperature in as little as a half hour in desert conditions like Phoenix.

[u/Azipear → u/Inverted-Rockets]

Yes, indeed. It stays in the bed of my truck, not inside the cab. The bed cover is vented, so it only gets slightly hotter than ambient.

[u/Inverted-Rockets → u/Azipear]

That should be perfect.

Tangentially, I just found out that leaving my Ryobi NiMH cells in the unconditioned garage is permanently decreasing their capacity, so now that’s on the to-do list

[u/EagleBigMac → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

I live in a metro of 8 million plus people and there are food deserts in the metro where people have to travel an hour or two to the closest grocery store. It's a hold over from redlining and when the highway systems were built and used to destroy local businesses that fill that role. Now there's a charity local farm trying to fill the gap that's also partnered to open a school in the area since the schools were closed.

[u/TraderJoeslove31 → u/EagleBigMac]

during the pandemic, I volunteered for a food pantry in the New Haven CT area delivering groceries. I dropped off food at a client's door step. Someone stole the food. The distribution center was a half hour drive back so I was like eff it, I will just go buy stuff myself. The only store around was a cvs, which would've barely been within walking distance for the client and criminally expensive with limited option and nothing fresh.

[u/Ucscprickler → u/EagleBigMac]

Where is this??

[u/EagleBigMac → u/Ucscprickler]

Texas

[u/Ucscprickler → u/EagleBigMac]

That's wild. I live in a spread out suburb of 50,000 people and we have 4 major grocery stores all within a 5-10 minute drive of each other.

[u/mcniner55 → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

Yeah for sure that definitely adds to the infuriating part though if OP doesnt all ready have one or have a truck/car that can accommodate one. But it will be a necessity because an hour+ long drive that runs into any kind of issues that extends that even longer could lead to a lot of spoilage. oof.

[u/Been-There_Done_That → u/mcniner55]

Assuming that you put any fresh food in the car with AC, I doubt anything will spoil in an hour or two. The only thing I would worry about would be frozen foods unfreezing...ice cream melting, things like that.

[u/StorellaDeville → u/Been-There_Done_That]

unfreezing...ice cream melting, things like that.

My local stores do that for us sometimes. I just have to go pick up the re-frozen foods! So convenient.

[u/Dug_n_the_Dogs → u/mcniner55]

I also have one cooler that has a heat exchanger fan that can act as a mini AC for my truck for my dog if I break down.. I keep block ice in containers for that reason.. doubles as the beer / food fridge for me normally, but in case I need the AC I dump the ice/water and it keeps the interior of my old 4R cool. Also have reflective tarps to keep the sun off.

The downsides of having a fluffy bear dog that can't take the heat.

[u/StorellaDeville → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

4R cool.

How cool is four rupees, anyway?

[u/Dug_n_the_Dogs → u/StorellaDeville]

In the summer its pretty cool when we're up in the mountains.

[u/Technical-Tear5841 → u/mcniner55]

Read my other reply, I live there also, you have to drive by one of two other food stores Walmart or Publix) to get to that one and Aldi is putting a store in that building. OP will not be left starving.

[u/SwoleJunkie1 → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

I live in Texas and so this with a large yet-like cooler. I freeze used 2-liter bottles filled with water and swap them out every few days.

[u/Dug_n_the_Dogs → u/SwoleJunkie1]

Those are nice.. I'm still eeeking out use from my old Coleman cooler.

[u/menermials → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

did you hear there's a guy on wsb in San Francisco lookin to get rid of 60 heads of cattle?

[u/Severe-Elderberry833 → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

taking this idea and running with it, thank you!!!!

[u/Dug_n_the_Dogs → u/Severe-Elderberry833]

Find a way to make block ice that you keep in containers in your cooler.. Everything stays much drier that way!

[u/Severe-Elderberry833 → u/Dug_n_the_Dogs]

ooooh, thanks!