Poll worker food

October 31, 2020 7:23 AM

I will be working at the polls on election day from 5am to at least 9pm and am trying to figure out what food to take with me. We theoretically have two one hour meal breaks, which may or may not actually happen in full. There will not be refrigeration or reheating possibilities, but I do have an insulated lunchbox kicking around somewhere. I am a vegetarian who gets seriously hangry and can be revived by protein in particular. What should I buy?

Other than vegetarianism, the other real constraint is that my local grocery stores don't have the widest selection. Ideally I'd have like four of the Clif Builder bars with me as emergency backup, but they aren't readily available in my neighborhood (I'll keep digging on Amazon, ethics aside).

posted by hoyland to Food & Drink (19 answers total)

peanut butter and banana sandwiches?
posted by cacao at 7:42 AM on October 31, 2020 [2 favorites]

I’m vegan and my go to for long days away from home is peanut butter on really hearty whole grain bread (Dave’s Killer Bread in particular). I also really like Larabars, though I no longer order those from Amazon, as I’ve gotten some in bad shape more than once. I order from Vitacost, but I don’t know if you have time. Nuts and dates are good - those are the main ingredients in larabars anyway. Also a lot of cut up veggies last well all day. Can you make a three-bean salad? Those are eaten at room temperature and should keep.
posted by FencingGal at 7:43 AM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm vegan, and I like these Primal Spirit jerky strips. My local Wegmans carries them. I like Cliff bars and PB&J sandwiches, but eating sweet stuff all day tends to get old.

Also, I worked as an election inspector for a few years. I once made the mistake of bringing a dill pickle to eat. The room had a low ceiling, and the whole place started to smell like the pickle. I remember one voter coming in, sniffing the air, and saying "This place smells like a deli".
posted by alex1965 at 7:50 AM on October 31, 2020 [3 favorites]

I would take good bread, cheese, boiled eggs, peanut butter, and fruit. None of those things care about refrigeration or reheating. I'd take enough to share with anyone who could use some.
posted by fritley at 7:52 AM on October 31, 2020 [4 favorites]

This is what trail mix was invented for. Maybe not for maintaining an open road for democracy but you get my drift.
posted by warriorqueen at 8:08 AM on October 31, 2020 [3 favorites]

One thing I would definitely be sure of this year is to bring a big supply of water with you (like even a gallon of water you can refill your water bottle with). Not sure where you're working but a lot of water fountains may be out of service due to COVID (or even if they're in service, if the building were closed for some time you may not know if the system's pipes were flushed adequately).

When I was a poll worker in 2016, a very nice woman dropped off a big Sam's Club style pack of water bottles and breath mints to us and I was surprised by how excited we were by both of those items.

Also, I would bring any small comfort food treats you like in case things get stressful. For me this would be something like ginger chews.
posted by mostly vowels at 8:10 AM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

A couple bananas. Some granols. for snacking
Freeze a bottle of water for the lunchbox. It will keep things cold for quite a while, then you can drink it.
Make a few wraps; thye're fine cold. rice, black beans(or refries), sweet potato, salsa, spinach. Or a ploughman's lunch of bread, cheese, pickles.
Chips, guacamole, salsa do well with limited refrigeration. Add beans to the salsaif you want protein.
posted by theora55 at 8:14 AM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

Since you've got an insulated lunchbox (and presumably something to use as an icepack), I'd say make a graze box of hardboiled eggs (or egg sandwiches/breakfast burrito), cheese, chips and dip of choice, pb with or without j, nuts or trail mix, and a banana or two. Cut your sandwiches into quarters (or use wrap bread but make your wraps flat more like a quesadilla, so you're not committed to holding a wrap together once you start eating it or having it unfurl in the box if you need to eat part of it). If you don't get an hour and only get a few minutes periodically, any of those should get you fed quickly and then hands washed and back to work.

Because you're doing a good and slightly dangerous deed, do treat yourself to something special that you can get a hold of in your local store. Get the slightly fancier cheese, some individual dip-cups of guac or hummus (both of which, sealed, will be fine until later in the day in the presence of an ice pack), that deliciously gnarly bean dip in the chip aisle, pudding cup, berries, whatever will boost your spirits when you open the box.

Do eat a hearty protein-heavy breakfast before you go. I see that you are starting in the most wee of hours, please make yourself something the day before that you can convince yourself to get down at 4am. (My mom's old early-roadtrip trick was to order pizza the night before, enough for there to be leftovers in the morning. Everybody loves leftover pizza for breakfast, and you can take it with you to the car.)
posted by Lyn Never at 8:32 AM on October 31, 2020 [9 favorites]

I'm a poll worker too. Usually my precinct has the undisputed BEST potluck of all the city precincts, but because of stupid COVID-19 we are all bringing our own food. At my location we are restricted to only having coolers and crock-pots (no microwave, no fridge or freezer) so this is what I do:

You can TRY to encourage a bunch of midwestern ladies to bring healthy food to share, but you're still going to wind up with 12 kinds of bars and "salad" that has marshmallow fluff and snickers in it. So I only bring healthy stuff for myself and snack on the shareables. Even during COVID times my judges sneak in bars and candy and other goodies.

So this is my healthy food:

I buy one of those salads-in-a-bag and a can of chickpeas. Open bag, remove dressing and other little bags of things like croutons. Pour everything into the big bag of salad. Open can of chickpeas, drain, rinse. Pour chickpeas into bag of salad. Hold shut and shake. Eat the whole damned thing when you have a chance to pop in back.

I make a pot of brothy soup the night before and heat it up while I'm getting ready. The soup then goes into my giant thermal travel mug. I sip out of it when I have a chance. I have one of those giant gas station coffee mugs and will put the soup in it and sip out of it at the table. People probably think I'm drinking coffee but it's really my dinner. Yum.
posted by Gray Duck at 9:04 AM on October 31, 2020 [3 favorites]

I am a poll worker too and vegan and what really helps me get through the day is bottled protein shakes. I drink the Ripple ones, they have 20 grams of protein and taste ok even if they are not super cold.
posted by doublenelson at 9:06 AM on October 31, 2020

Make a batch of crispy chickpeas the night before. They are high in protein and fiber and do not require any refrigeration. Thank you for being a poll worker!
posted by mezzanayne at 9:37 AM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

Also, THANK YOU!!!
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:00 AM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm doing the same thing! I pack two lunches, and at least one of them will be cold pizza which I happen to love. Hard-boiled eggs will also hold up well out of refrigeration, so will peanut-butter or cheese sandwiches. 2nding the crispy chickpeas, they get kind of leathery the next day but still satisfying (drain chickpeas, toss with oil and salt, bake on a sheet at 425F until they're crispy.) You can do marinated baked tofu on the same sheet with the chickpeas, which is also a pleasant salad filling. Or pack a jar of three-bean salad (drain 3 cans of beans you like, add onions, garlic, and oil & vinegar and maybe some pepper.)

If you can bring a thermos of hot water and a camp mug, you can have tea or instant coffee/instant soup. It can be a nice pick-me-up.

Don't forget your phone charger and a book!
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:41 AM on October 31, 2020

I don't like the way peanut butter tastes after it has been in a sandwich for 12 hours so I prefer to take a small jar and some bread with me and make it on site. Be aware of peanut allergies though.

Frozen water bottles are as good as icepacks and can be drunk later in the day. You can do this with reusable bottles too. Hard sided bottles can be filled half way and then layed on their side in the freezer.
posted by Mitheral at 10:50 AM on October 31, 2020

Peanut allergies are pretty common. I mean, you can't anticipate every allergy, but that one's common enough that I would urge you to save the peanut products for your actual break and not snacking at your station. You wouldn't want somebody to turn around for their own safety.
posted by stevis23 at 12:02 PM on October 31, 2020

Thanks for your effort for democracy!

About once a month, I drive for five hours each way to our family farm. I've long thought I should pack a lunch, because the gas-station food gives me heartburn. But it took corona to get me to do it, obviously, there are more frightening things than heartburn at those gas stations now. So I have tried out some different things and now my favorite is Vietnamese spring rolls (random googled recipe). I know this might be a challenge with your local store (though ours has the weirdest things while not having completely ordinary stuff, rice wraps and rice noodles are there). I mentioned in an other thread that I found a mom and pop Asian online store during lockdown, who came in person and delivered: they brought me the ingredients for the dipping sauce. On the other hand, I have improvised the sauce using crunchy peanut butter, lemon and soy sauce. If you eat egg, making a thin omelet and folding slices of it into the spring rolls is excellent. I find they keep well in the fridge overnight but are best when they have been in room temp for a while before eating.

I am not vegetarian, but sometimes I take a month or so on only vegan food, and I find peas to be a delicious source of protein. Samosas are best when straight out of the pan, but they are still good and filling several hours later or next day when they have become soft, but the filling is still tasty. TBH I still struggle with the crust, and sometimes I just put the filling in puff pastry and bake it in the oven. My adult kids insist this is genius. You could probably use any non-sweet pre-made pie crust for this purpose. Don't refrigerate.

This reminds me that once when I had some left-over ravioli (uncooked), I tried deep frying them. That is a good idea. Keep them on the countertop over night, rather than in the fridge.

Another good use of peas is a pasta salad made with penne, halved cherry tomatoes, thawed frozen fine peas and a tasty dressing made with olive oil, mustard, vinegar and salt and pepper (maybe a bit of your favorite chili sauce). It looks really simple but the punch from the mustard (and chili) balances out the sweetness of the peas and tomatoes. Make everything ready the night before, but cook the pasta in the morning. Mix it when the pasta is still hot, and pack it in your lunchbox right away. Never refrigerate.

Spanikopita hand pies are good room temperature and very easy to make. If you can't find filo dough, just use puff pastry. As with the samosas and fried ravioli, don't refrigerate.

Seconding the idea of a hearty soup in a thermos cup.

While writing this, I remembered a noodle salad I once had at a cafe and googled to look for something similar. I found this: thai noodle salad with the best ever peanut sauce I haven't tried it, but it really looks good for a lunch box.
posted by mumimor at 12:56 PM on October 31, 2020

Not all comfort snacks will be willing to sit quietly in your stomach for 16-17 hours so please consider the possibility that you may have more limited time/access to facilities than you are expecting.

20% of chiefs in our precincts in 2008 did not have a chance to either eat or pee the entire election. They weren't the only ones, but they're the only ones who were surveyed. We address time management in training now but every post-election I deal with a dozen of so comments about gas, cramps and dehydration.

I'm trying to balance your expectations, but my (2020) tip is work out the safest way you can stay hydrated during the entire day without having to move or handle your mask too much.
posted by ezust at 1:06 PM on October 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

Great suggestions here and you deserve it because you are awesome for doing this. I'd suggest one of the following truly delicious salads plus some fresh fruit like an apple or pear and of course water:

Option 1 (makes 5 servings): Toss 1 (15 ounce) can of no salt added or low sodium white beans, drained, 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped, 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped, 1/2 orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped, 2 plum tomatoes, chopped, 1 cup grated carrots, 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, 1/2 cup dried currants, 1/2 cup raw walnuts, chopped, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons coconut amino and 2 cups cooked quinoa.

Option 2 (makes 2 servings): Steam 8 oz ounces green beans and set aside. Then put 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/2 cup low sodium or no-salt-added vegetable broth and 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar in skillet and cook on medium for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender, adding vegetable broth as needed to keep mixture from drying out. Take off heat and add in green beans. Toast 2 tbsp pecans and 2 tbsp quinoa in skillet and sprinkle on top.
posted by bearwife at 1:42 AM on November 1, 2020

This is not a time to be trying a new food. Skip the peanut butter (unless you know that you'll be able to eat somewhere other than the voting floor), or anything smelly - you (and everyone who walks in) will be smelling it for hours.

KIND nut bars are better than Clif bars (which start with sugar). Nature Valley -- widely available -- has some Protein Bars which aren't horrible, and their new Packed bars are actually pretty tasty, even though I don't usually like blueberries in commercial bars.

I will be working from 6am to 10pm (as I often do), and my usual meal is a grain salad - a rice/quinoa mix, add a can of drained black beans, and half a cup (or so) of roasted corn (heat a pan on medium, drop half a cup of frozen corn into it, stir until the corn is heated through and brown in places. you don't need oil). Optionally, add a bit of oil to the pan and some onions . Dressing is a couple of tablespoons of lime juice (deglaze the pan with it first for more yummies) and a bit of oil. Chop up a couple of sundried tomatoes, and spice either Italian or Southwestern. Combine well. Add some chopped green salad (some nuts or French's Onions for crunch) when you actually eat it. This is good at room temperature or chilled, and takes no on site prep. (I start with a prepacked rice/quinoa blend.)

I take a couple of apples and a couple of packets of fruit snacks. I sometimes bring them all home with me, but at least I have them.

Take a couple of bottles of water, if it's not provided. Or even if it is.

Many polling places do not allow cell phones, especially for workers. I s'pose you could take a book - I think the people working the voting floor will have fewer in-person voters than usual, as our clerk has already accepted over a thousand absentee ballots, with more expected by Tuesday.
posted by jlkr at 7:52 AM on November 1, 2020