Let try this. The food may not be edible for you because of your food allergy, but probably 95 percent of the rest of humanity are OK with it.
Care to enlighten us as to what is "not edible" in the dining car? It seems to me that in the past I recall seeing a document that had ingredients listed for items on the menu. Perhaps you should do some research with Amtrak and see if you can obtain that document, or something similar.....or if you absolutely need to bring your own food, adaquate suggestions have been made as to where you might be able to find refrigeration for your cooler.
His allergy problem has been discussed in other threads. Even the fact that the ingredients listings are inadequate and that the staff cannot confirm if a dish does or does not have xyz ingredient in it.
Which he's doing by asking here for any suggestions on where to get an ice-like product in Chicago that'll last and not leak like real ice will.
He opened with the premise of "Amtrak does not provide edible food." His words. So he opened the door to this fair criticism and the defense of Amtrak's food.
I agree. A "severe, possibly life-threatening reaction" would be a better description than stating allergy as so many do. I would not even use the term "allergy" as it can mean anything from a red face or a rash.My son has a life threatening food allergy, and "eating out" is always problematic. Most folk don't realise how serious these "allergies" can be... and in some ways, calling them an allergy belittles the dangers.
People die nowadays, even in our high tech society, from ingesting allergens, often through server ignorance or errors in ingredient lables.
Things have improved over the last 20 years, but the reaction of some folk on here, who do not "get it" shows how much the allergy sufferer still needs to rely on their own resorces...
Ed
Do you know anyone who takes insulin? Mine gets shipped to me in foam coolers with cold packs which last for days. I am inundated with both the coolers and the cold packs and can't give them away. If you move to western North Carolina, I'd give you all you need but they are not worth shipping. I have used them both when needing more than one insulin pen (like on a long trip) or for taking drinks and stuff on a train w/o having to bring it back home.
Guess that's where I got side tracked too. My response was to his not being able to use Amtrak food and not wanting to use real ice.
My cousin is married to a doctor. I went down for a visit once with a cooler and had these little Blue Ice packs (aka ice blankets) with lots of separate liquid compartments sealed into a sheet of plastic. Rubbermaid had licensed it from a medical supplier and inserted a blue dye. When he saw on one visit he said one of the doctors in his building receives lots of medications/vaccines and didn't care if he took the used ice packs that she was disposing. I saw it, and it was the same company that licensed to Rubbermaid, only with a clear liquid. I looked it up, and the company was Cryopak. My only issue is that it didn't stay cold that long, but it provided very good cold coverage since it could literally surround the item to be cooled. I think it was usually placed in an insulated box and kept tightly closed.
