Dish for a Funeral

Grab dessert items from a bakery. There's nothing wrong with you not making the food. The food is already in containers and ready to travel. Plus you can stop at a place closer to the lunch, you don't have to worry about hot/cold items.

Rule: simple simple simple. You're not a contestant on Iron Chef, no one really cares what you bring.

FINGER FOOD, a one-handed nibble. If you want to bake? Lemon bars, chocolate squares. Or pick up at a bakery. Think "dessert, comfort food".

Gosh... I'm sorry you are put in that position. I agree with a local grocery or bakery to pick something up.

Per my experience when my husband suddenly passed away in 2015, food after his service was taken care of by our country club so no one felt obligated to bring food after the service. They provided this including all utensils, condiments, etc at no charge to me. I was fortunate. Plenty of food was provided with lots of to go dishes sent with guests.

As a new widow, food was the last thing on my mind. I appreciated the people who came by to the viewing, funeral and especially to my home afterwards.

It was the thoughtfulness of someone to actually come to me and/or my daughter to express feelings at the time. We needed that more than anything as we were in shock, not eating and just in survival mode.

Just be you and you will be appreciated.

Google a supermarket near the luncheon, and pick up one of those divided platters of cut-up fruit. Get some plastic tongs ahead of time at the party store, or get a container of decorative toothpicks. Or, call the supermarket ahead of time (or go on line) and ask them to dish up a couple of big containers of potato salad or a tortellini salad for you. Get a decorative plastic bowl from the party store and 2 large plastic serving spoons so you don't need to worry about collecting your dish afterwards. As soon as you arrive, open and dump the salad in the bowl, and you're done.

Truly, no one cares if you cook. They just want people to help.

Bakery cookies would travel well.

rice crispy treats - three ingredients they take five minutes to make
mini no bake cheesecakes = you could get the mix I always make the reese's ones
deviled eggs on ice you can even buy the eggs peeled and boiled and just make the filling
or you could just buy a fruit plate or some hummus and crackers from the store
put it in a throwaway container so you don't lose your container..

I would bring a side dish. I'd make a cold salad. I would pack some ice packs around it in the backseat of the car. Some ideas would be:
a quinoa salad
a orzo pasta salad
peach and avocado salad
tomato, corn, bean, brown rice and feta salad
an asian style coleslaw
Something like this (with no mayo) will be fine packed with icepacks for an hour.
Good luck. Just pick an easy recipe you find online. For example a cold mexican chopped salad...corn, black beans, red onion, red pepper, cilantro, jicama, zucchini, and a lime/honey/cilantro dressing.

I would not bring a bakery product if you were asked to bring a side. It sound like they are trying to plan a full luncheon, not just appetizers and desserts.

I would make a cheesy potato dish, which can be adapted to a crock pot using this recipe: http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2012/06/crock-pot-cheesy-h...

It's pretty simple, because you start with frozen hash brown potatoes and it can feed a lot of people. Fully cook at home before you go, then turn on warm for the luncheon.

I second everyone's suggestion to pick something up at the bakery. Most grocery stores (The Fresh Market, Whole Foods, Publix) have a bakery department. You could pick up a few pies, or some cookies, for example. I wouldn't recommend rice pudding or cakes that may contain dairy (allergies, lactose intolerance, and of course, the risk they will spoil in the heat and the sun), and cupcakes can get messy with all that frosting. As to side dishes, you could bring a corn salad (a lot of grocery stores have a hot food and cold food bar too, so you don't have to cook necessarily), hummus and pita chips, salsa, a bean salad, German potato salad, Southwest-style avocado, tomato and onion salad, quinoa, roasted or grilled vegetables, pasta salad, potato wedges, sweet potato fries, or mashed potatoes.

Just went to one and what people brought were baked goods. There was also cheese and crackers and fruit. I would do the baked goods (bake ahead or pick up) and keep it simple. I find people nibble at these things. What we brought were a tray of squares from bakery. They went fast.

Cookies are easy to make and travel well.

Stop at a grocery store near the site of the funeral and pick up a ready made dessert.

It's easier to keep something cold than hot.
Cucumber salad is something my whole neighborhood loves when we have potlucks.
Bring it in a cooler on ice.

the deli department at my jewel has both hot and cold food side dishes. you could bring a crockpot, head over to the deli and get a hot side on site dump into crock and turn on warm to keep it hot. the deli will do the work of making it hot then you will keep it hot once your there.

Drive through KFC or some other fast food meal place when you get to town.

-Pasta salad (served cold, google a simple recipe), Take in sm ice chest.
-Large green salad w/lots of veggies (cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, etc.)
-Stouffer's lasagna (cook that morning, wrap in foil, place in ice chest w/o ice
for easy transport. Place towels around in ice chest, keep wrapped in foil.)
-cheese, salami, sm sweet roll, olives, platter
-large fruit salad (just cut up a lot of fruit (cantaloupe, watermelon, grapes,
honeydew)
-buy premade things from the deli like pasta salad, potato salad
-you could make chili in a crockpot

In case you haven't already gone... coleslaw is easy to make if you have a food processor and it will travel just fine.

or pick up one of those pre made fruit trays.

When you get there stop at a grocery store and pick up a cold side in the deli. Or before you go buy the bagged cole slaw mix and a bottle of cole slaw dressing. Neither one would need to be kept cold if the dressing is unopened. Take along a salad bowl to dump it in. If you want to make it a little fancier you can add some crushed pineapple and some raisins. We just did this when there were 30+ people at my aunt's house last week. It makes a decent cole slaw and takes no prep. We made a huge bowl (2 bags of the cole slaw mix) and it was pretty much gone.