How to send food to someone in another state

How does one deliver food to their friends during quarantine while respecting social distancing regulations? Believe it or not, there are a few methods you can follow to safely transport food to your loved one.

Right now, people need all the comfort they can get, and if that means eating a home-cooked meal (courtesy of you) or one from a local business, then that's exactly what they should get. Here are three such ways you can make that happen for them without greatly risking yourself of exposure.

We all appreciate a home-cooked meal from time to time, and some people may even depend on a little extra assistance right now. If you want to deliver food to a friend or family member, the safest way to do so is to prepare the food without touching it with your hands. Wear gloves and use utensils to maneuver the food in the pan while it's cooking. Once it's done, move the contents in the pan directly to a container, but again, make sure to do so without touching the food with your hands.

If the recipient's house isn't within walking distance and you need to drive or bike there, just make sure to sanitize your hands after touching the car door, steering wheel, or bike handles before picking up the container again. You can let your friend know you are coming to drop off the food, but keep the transaction contactless by dropping off the containers outside of their door. And finally, encourage your friend to wipe down the outside of the containers with a disinfectant wipe, as the virus is believed to live on plastic and stainless steel surfaces for up to three days.

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If you don't feel like cooking and would also prefer to support a local restaurant, you could always place an order either online or by calling to see if they offer curbside carry-out or have a walk-up window. Then, in a similar fashion that you would deliver a home-cooked meal, leave it outside of their door for them to retrieve once you're at the end of the driveway or already down the street. Also, make sure to sanitize your hands after handling the packages.

Another option would be to place an order through a delivery service such as Grubhub, which offers a no contact feature. You could remove yourself from the delivery process entirely by going this route because you select the address the meal delivers to. This may be the best option, especially if you fall within the high-risk category of having severe complications from COVID-19.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Just make sure to press the no-contact option on the app; this is increasingly becoming more important as new research is beginning to suggest the wind can carry infectious respiratory droplets up to 20 feet away or more. In other words, the six feet rule may not be as strong of a benchmark as we previously thought.

Read More: 9 Worst Grocery Chains to Shop at During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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When thinking about food delivery services, it’s easy to think of ordering for yourself and have it delivered to your home. But sometimes, you may want to send food to someone else. This is a question for so many consumers as they have people who need the order to be placed for them, or they just want to do something nice by sending a meal to a loved one.

Luckily, with DoorDash, you can order food delivery for someone else. This does not need to be someone close to your home or even in your state for the delivery to be completed. As long as you have the person’s address, you can order food on DoorDash and send it to them regardless of location.

Food delivery services like DoorDash have made a huge difference in the ease of getting meals delivered for so many people. With being able to send it to other people, it is now even more convenient.

If you have someone in your life that you’d like to send food to, this article will walk you through how to send food to another person using DoorDash.

Introducing Gifting through DoorDash! ???? Whether you’re looking for a unique holiday gift or simply want to show loved ones near or far that you’re thinking of them, our new Gifting feature makes it easier than ever. https://t.co/1kZfd6r0Ze

— DoorDash (@DoorDash) November 19, 2020

How to Send DoorDash to Someone Else

If you’re using DoorDash to send food to someone else, it’s quite simple. Follow the steps below to ensure your recipient gets their meal with no problems:

1. When you log into DoorDash, first take a look at your delivery address. Change it to the address of your recipient.
2. Once your address is changed, the available restaurants will change.
3. Proceed with choosing food and enter the payment process.
4. Once paid, if there are any special instructions for the delivery, be sure to include them.
5. Submit your order.

The main difference between ordering for yourself and ordering for somebody else is the address change.

If you do not change the address, you will not see the list of available restaurants for the person you are sending food to. This is especially true if you’re sending food out of state or a significant distance from your location.

If you don’t change the address first, the food you pick out will likely be removed from your cart since it will not be available for delivery if your recipient is in a different city.

Once your address is successfully changed, the ordering process is the same as it would be if you were ordering food for yourself.

If the person you are sending food to doesn’t know that you are sending it, be sure to give additional instructions on order. You should leave your name on the package so the recipient knows who it’s from.

Also, be sure to request that they ring the doorbell or deliver it directly to the recipient rather than leaving it on the doorstep.

This way, the person will be notified of the delivery, as they may not know that it’s there for a while if no direct contact is made.

Can You Change DoorDash Delivery Address After Placing an Order?

If you’ve already placed an order, you can still change the address but keep in mind that the address change should be within the same region as the old one to ensure the delivery driver is still in range.

To change the address, you’ll do the following steps:

1. Go into your delivery, and where the order tracker is located, press “Help”.
2. Once you’ve done this, you’ll see “Change of Address”.
3. Once selected, you’ll be able to choose an address from your list of saved addresses.

If you’re not able to change the address, it’s because the new address must be in the correct delivery range to go through.

Therefore, DoorDash will show your saved addresses and allow you to choose from whichever is in the delivery range from the restaurant.

If you need to change the address to out of state or simply too far from the restaurant you ordered from, you will need to cancel your order and start over to use the same address and see the accurate list of available restaurants.

doordash delivered my first order to the wrong address so they gave me twice the points as what my meal cost so i made my reorder bigger and it was all free

— violet ✿ (@beautifullyles) February 15, 2021

What Happens if DoorDash Delivers to Wrong Address?

It is not unheard of for a Dasher to deliver to the wrong address. In this case, the delivery driver will correct their mistake and bring the order to the correct address. Usually, the driver calls or texts the customer that they’ve arrived and then finds out they are in the wrong place.

Once they receive the correct address from the customer, the order will be delivered promptly to the correct location.

If this has not been your experience, you are encouraged to file a complaint by contacting customer service. This will usually result in a voucher for your next meal or a refund depending on the current policy.

Can You Share Your DoorDash Account?

As a customer, you can easily share your DoorDash account. The only problem some may face is forgetting to change the address if you are sharing the account with someone who does not live at the same address as you. In this case, you may inconvenience yourself more by sharing an account.

However, there are no rules against sharing an account, especially since DoorDash is a free app and website to use. The only thing to be careful of is that you are always double-checking where your orders are being sent.

@DoorDash_Help If I have a gift card for a restaurant, how can I use that on the app? Thanks.

— Patrick Scott (@pscott05) May 9, 2020

Can You Use Gift Cards on DoorDash?

If you have a DoorDash specific gift card, that can always be used on the app simply by selecting a gift card at checkout rather than selecting to pay with a credit card. If you have a gift card through another restaurant or service, you will not be able to use it on DoorDash.

For example, if you have a Subway gift card and want to order through DoorDash, the app will not support the use of Subway’s gift card. This is simply because of where the money went to pay for the card ahead of time.

In this case, it went to Subway and not DoorDash. Therefore, DoorDash will not allow the use of restaurant gift cards on its platform.

Final Thoughts

Ordering food has never been as easy as today with the delivery services we have at our fingertips. Not only can you order a meal for yourself, but you can also order one for a friend or family member across the country from you. This is a game-changer when it comes to food deliveries.

Whenever you use DoorDash to order food for someone else, just be very conscious about changing the delivery address. If you are not careful with this, you will end up losing money, either having to get the order canceled or getting delivered to the incorrect location.

Instead, check the address first thing when you open the website or the app!

Remember when you’re checking out that only DoorDash gift cards are supported on the platform. If you have a gift card to another restaurant or establishment, you’ll have to order directly from them to pay for the cost of your meal.

Finally, if you share an account with another person, always be sure to check your address. This is a very common reason for cancellations which can result in unnecessary charges.

If you’re interested in finding out more about DoorDash, check out the related articles below.

Related Articles:

6 Ways to Contact DoorDash Customer Service

Can DoorDash Drivers See Tips? (Before or After Delivery)

Can DoorDash Drivers See Your Rating?

Can You Use Restaurant Gift Cards on DoorDash?

DoorDash Refund: Everything You Need to Know

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Last Updated: March 19, 2022

Eril Eti is the founder of Shopfood.com and has over a decade of experience in the consumer goods industry. He launched many products for major brands sold at retailers like Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Target, Kroger, Publix, and more.

Eril loves food and sharing his experience with others. Outside of work, you can find him at a hiking trail in New England or playing soccer with his kids.