• Be realistic when planning.
  Blakeslee's tailgating group includes people who live in the Manhattan area and others who travel some distance. To make tailgating easy and keep food safe, she and Manhattan friends provide the perishable foods, such as meats and salads that require refrigeration. Out-of-town friends bring their appetites and spirit.
  Sharing the responsibility does mean that some people spend more money than others, she said. To compensate for that, the group adds up expenses and divides them so that everyone feels like they are contributing equally.
  "We also try to plan quantities so that we will have few perishable foods left over," she said.

• Prepare as much food as you can at home, and keep cold foods cold, and hot foods hot.
  Such tailgate foods as pasta, potato or a meat salad can be prepared the day before and chilled before being placed in an ice chest.
  The same is true for hot foods, such as a sloppy joe sandwich mixture. It's possible to keep sandwich fillings, soups or stews hot in a stockpot on a camp stove or grill. Some slow cookers offer an adapter that can be plugged into a car battery, but Blakeslee advised bringing jumper cables along.
  "I've learned from experience," she said. When members of her tailgating group brought along a small television with an adapter so they could check the Nebraska game, they ran down the battery of her car.

• Keep raw foods separate from cooked foods.
  "Consider multiple ice chests - or coolers - an investment," said Blakeslee, who recommends one ice chest for raw meats; one for such cooked foods as a pasta or potato salad, and one for beverages.
  "Since beverage chests often are opened most frequently, it's a good idea to keep beverages in a separate chest. Each time an ice chest is opened, the temperature inside can change," she said.

• Fill ice chests. Temperature remains more constant in a cooler that is full, rather than in one that is partially full.
  "If food and ice do not quite fill the ice chest, add frozen juice boxes or water bottles that can be used as beverages. Or add other foods that may be less fragile, such as cut vegetables or utility items like utensils," Blakeslee said. "Transfer chilled foods directly from the refrigerator to a cooler. Remember also to secure lids."
  Taking raw hamburgers, brats, steaks or other meat or poultry to grill? Blakeslee transports raw meats and poultry in disposable food storage bags. She also packs two sets of utensils for these items - one set of tongs and a turner to use with raw meats and another to use for cooked meats - along with a clean platter for serving the cooked meats and poultry.
  Planning to pick up a bucket of chicken in route? Blakeslee recommends making it the last stop, and placing the chicken in the cooler immediately.

• Keep coolers out of direct sunlight. Shade them with the car, table or tent or cover them with a blanket, she said.

• Keep food in coolers until ready to reheat or serve.
  Food should not be allowed to sit out for more than two hours. If the outside temperature is 90 degrees or above, that recommendation drops to one hour, Blakeslee said.
  "These are general recommendations for food safety. If there is any doubt that food safety may have been compromised, it's best to discard the foods in question," she said.

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus in Manhattan.