Ask a hunger response professional

Great question. We understand that our subscription model is not what most are typically used to.

Because you receive meals every week and our menu changes every week, you must go in and update/edit your box. Below we have a link that will show you a video on how to do the edit. If you still have any questions we are here to help.

How to Edit your Meal box

For Oven: (Recommended)

  • Pre-Heat Oven to 350 degrees for 15 minutes
  • Remove Film and transfer meal into an oven safe dish
  • Remove any sauce cups if included
  • Add a Little Water** and cover with foil
  • Place in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes or until the desired temperature is reached
  • Serve

For Stove Top: (Recommended)

  • Remove the Film and Transfer to a Pot
  • Remove any sauce cups if included
  • Add a Little Water**
  • Heat on low to medium, until the desired temperature is reached.
  • Serve

For Microwave:

  • Remove Container Lid
  • Remove any sauce cups if included
  • Add a Little Water** and Cover with Paper Towel
  • Place container in the microwave
  • Heat 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until the desired temperature is reached
  • Serve

** If a meal is saucy or like a soup/stew, there is no need to add additional liquid

These are recommendations and heating my vary based on your personal preferences.

First, all meals are packaged refrigerated not frozen. However, if you are outside our hand delivery area, your meals were packaged with dry ice. 

So during the shipping period, the dry ice will freeze the meals to ensure they come to you fresh and with no chance of being warm. We have tried all different refrigerants, which do not last with weather/heat and any chance of delays with UPS. The last thing we want are meals showing up warm or spoiled due to weather/time. If you have received meals from other companies with gel packs, we can pretty much guarantee they were frozen when they went in the box.

We are required by the Department of Health and the FDA, to keep the meals at 40 degrees or below to meet all food safety guidelines.

We can assure you that your meals are made fresh just a day or sometimes a few hours before going out the door. Just take the meals, place them in the fridge and they will be perfectly fresh to enjoy.

We dispatched our hunger fire investigation team and the cause of this burning question, has the following outcome:

We have various weight ranges to address any type of hunger fire. Our huger extinguishing meals start at 12 ounces and go up to 16 ounces. All containers are now the same size, the weights will vary. General guidelines of hunger suppression are; International and Classics will be 16 ounces, Vegan/Plant Based will be 14 ounces, and all Diet Categories will be 12 ounces.

Local Delivery:

For the Greater Orlando Area and its surrounding communities, we have a 6 meal minimum, which now has FREE delivery **Tuesday Delivery

Shipping:

For everyone outside our hand delivery, we also have a minimum of 6 also with FREE shipping. **Ships Tuesday for Wednesday or Thursday Delivery

Yes, because everything we cook/serve is prepared fresh and never sees a preservative. Your meals stay fresh for 7–10 days in the refrigerator. We do, however, have a disclaimer on salads. Due to the nature of greens, we shorten the shelf life to 3–4 days in the refrigerator. Our meals do freeze well and this a great option, if you can’t eat all you bought.

Absolutely. You can freeze your meals, especially if you do not intend to eat them within the 7-day “best if used by” date. That said, fresh is always the best. Please remember when heating from frozen, additional time is required from the time stated above.

Fire Dept. Meals would strongly advise against freezing meals that contain uncooked greens, like salads.

Not only can you heat your meals in the oven, but this is how we typically reheat our meals! We have changed our packaging and they area no longer oven-safe, so you will need to transfer the meals to an oven-safe dish. We would recommend 10 – 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees or until the desired temp is reached. Heating instructions are on the label. These are recommendations and heating may vary based on your personal preferences.

Unfortunately, No.

We as a company have had to reconsider our stand on customizing single meals, as our family grows and the meal quantities grow it’s very, very difficult to single out one meal in thousands. To remove ingredients, for example; milk, broccoli, onions and etc., we have had to make a whole new recipe which would then cause a delay in the cook line.

We also advise, that our kitchen prepares its recipes in proximity of the following allergens:

  • Eggs
  • Shellfish
  • Soy
  • Milk
  • Peanuts
  • Tree Nuts
  • Wheat
  • Fish

**** LOOK FOR THE ICON UNDER EACH MEAL. ****

With all that said, we kindly ask that all our family members, read the ingredients and if your allergen is listed, please avoid ordering that meal. We also kindly ask that you reach out to discuss, before ordering.  Feel free to contact us at support@firedeptmeals.com or (407) 347-9441.

Central Florida delivery times do vary depending on the number of local orders placed during the week. You can expect to receive an email on Monday morning with your delivery times (please make sure you check your junk/spam folder). Now, we will clarify, that we do our best to reach your delivery location at the designated time, however, traffic and weather can cause delays.

We also wish to make you aware, that if you live within the $6.00 HAND DELIVERY AREA, you must be home at time of delivery OR provide a cooler OR provide an alternate delivery location. Our meals are fresh and never frozen, delivered in temperature controlled vans so they are cold but cannot be place on your door step for a long period. You can provide your own cooler with refrigerant, but we cannot be responsible if they damage the packaging.

For our Family receiving their meals via UPS (those outside the $6.00 delivery area), we are limited to shipping times regulated by UPS. Everything we ship will have no longer than 3 days maximum and your are not required to be home. Our boxes are packed with refrigerant (dry ice) and are well insulated. *Note: your meals may arrive frozen due to the dry ice, remove from box and place in the fridge they will defrost and be good as new.

Thank you in advance for your understanding.

We are not 100% Organic, but that being said, we do ethically source all of our products and use organic ingredients in our recipes where it matters the most. We also choose other high-quality, non-organic ingredients, when organic is not sourceable.

Our philosophy is always to ethically source our products and by following the Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen (not the Lee Marvin movie), we are ensuring that our produce maintains our high standards. 

Again, Fire Dept. Meals does everything to keep organic and health in mind, it’s just some recipes require ingredients that are just not available in the market. We are always building relationships with ethical local suppliers, to deliver the best to our family.

Unfortunately, not all of our meals are gluten-free, look for the “no wheat” symbol under each meal title. That being said since we produce everything fresh and to order, it is possible to make any of our meals into a gluten-free option. If there is a menu item that you really wished was gluten-free, just say so! We recommend you put your needs/request in the comments section at checkout and drop us a note via email (support@firedeptmeals.com ) or phone call (407) 347-9441). Momma always said, it never hurts to ask!

Yes, everything is 100% recyclable:

  • Boxes – Take the box and break it down. Place it curbside per your specific City, Town or Village requirements.
  • Insulation – The insulation is constructed from pre-consumer paper and is curbside recyclable and repulpable for easy eco-friendly disposal. The repulpable paper is contained in food-grade kraft paper. This product can be placed in your curbside recycling bin.
  • Dry Ice – Dry Ice is the most environmentally friendly way to keep products cold during shipping. Dry Ice sublimates into a harmless gas leaving no residue or packaging behind. Making them 100% environmentally safe.
  • Food containers– Our next generation food containers are made from up to 100% post consumer recycled plastic, they are certified PET, free from BPA and are part of reducing the carbon footprint program.. Our containers are 100% re-recyclable, where they will once again become another product or even become our next generation container. Our packaging:
    • Meets all FDA standards for food grade products and safety.
    • Are completely 100% re-recyclable
    • Are oven, microwave & freezer safe
    • Can be heated in the oven at 350°F

Fire Dept. Meals have worked hard to find environment-friendly packaging/shipping methods that aren’t wasteful. If the area you live in doesn’t recycle certain materials, or you wish to research other options, check out Earth911.com.

We have recipes that are tailored to our vegan and vegetarian friends. On our website, you’ll find options for both. When you click on a recipe, you’ll see the ingredients used and the inspiration for which the dish was created.

NEVER! We take cross contamination very seriously! We respect your dietary choices and have specific cooking vessels dedicated to only vegan lifestyles.

We now offer a subscription service, but you are not required to join. We have made it easy to pause or cancel, however, we ask that our Clients don’t abuse this kindness, or we will need to change the rules. And because our subscription is completely different than most, due to the menu changing weekly, you will need to go in and edit every week or hope the Chief sends you what you like. Link provided in FAQ “How do I edit my subscription meal box?”

Yes, with our meal delivery plan, you have free range to pick which meals sound best. We update our menu weekly, so while we do choose which meals we’re preparing that week, you get to decide which meals and sides you’d like delivered. Our recipes contain ingredients and flavors from various cultures and traditions, so there’s sure to be something for everyone. They’re delivered fresh and never frozen.

Yes, everyone now gets FREE shipping.

Unfortunately yes. Due to the increasing cost of credit card processing along with many other things these days we are unable to absorb the cost of processing fees. We charge a flat fee of 3.00% of your purchase. It was a hard and painful decision but unfortunately a must.

First, we are truly sorry that this has happened. As much as we stress our concerns with UPS management, they don’t seem to fix or just don’t care how they are handling packages.

So that said if you receive any of your package(s) damaged we will need the following from you as quickly as possible:

  • Pictures of the Box, all four sides
  • Picture of the damaged meals.
  • If you have any video of the driver and how he placed the package on the premises?
  • If for any reason your package arrived later than expected, via the tracking.
  • Send all the info to support@firedeptmeals.com

Now with that, we will handle the rest and make sure your form of payment is credited for meals that you are unable to enjoy.

First, we apologize that your meals did not arrive when they should have. This is a tough answer and one you’re mostly likely not going to be happy with. Accountability in any business is important and we really don’t believe in pointing fingers, however once we have delivered your package/shipment to the shipper, they are now in control and believe us we wish we could be.

When we were hand delivering all of our meals, we were in control. If your meals arrived damaged, warm or with any issue we would refund part or all of your order without question. As we grow, we rely on others to do their part, as if it were us and unfortunately that is not always the case. As a small business relying on much larger businesses, with the resources get things done, we have to trust it will get done correctly.

Now since you’ve asked this question, it means they didn’t and the shipping company has failed. As much as we would like to refund money for the mistakes of others, we are a small business with a lot less capital than those that have made the issue. We advise anyone who has had this experience to take pictures of inside the box, record the date you received it and file a claim immediately with UPS.

Contact Us if you need assistance ordering Online

Get In Touch

Have more questions?

Send us an email at support@firedeptmeals.com.