Is there anyway to prevent colonists from taking packaged meals?

[Gonumen]

So as in the title, I'm trying to make a lot of packaged meals as I'm preparing for quite a long journey to several resource lumps but I can't prevent my colonists from taking the meals to their inventory even though there are often lavish/fine meals lying around as well. The only way, really, is to mircomanage it to the maximum and every time a meal is done proritze it to be hauled to a stockpile zone and forbidden but it's just pain in the neck to do that when there are 200 meals designated to be done. So my question: is there any way to make my colonists not take packaged meals without having to micromanage?

Thanks for any answers in advance.

[Vlad0mi3r]

Yep had the same issue myself and was frustrated for a bit.

What I found worked was to actually keep them in the fridge up the back out of the way. You could build a fridge annex off the one you have now if your pressed for space. But the key is to make sure your peeps have to walk past or over the other meals. They usually don't bother walking the extra distance to grab the packaged meals.

I still try to remember to forbid stacks of 10 when I am watching what's happening kitchen side.

Hope it helps

[The Nickman]

Yeah, just make a separate stockpile right up the back of your freezer for survival meals only on critical and that should stop them grabbing them. I did the same thing with pemmican and it worked a treat.

[Dashthechinchilla]

I stuck a roofed stockpile in my base away from the main living area and it doesn't matter. As long as they are closer than any other meal, colonists will take them. They do that to corn and berries too. Closest food first, not best quality.

My only solution was to forbid when they make new piles. At least they still add to forbidden piles.

[Limdood]

put the meals in a separate stockpile in a zone that only the cook is allowed in = minimal consumption.

Forbid any new stacks of packaged meals.  You can stack items into a forbidden stack, but not take items off, so if you catch your first dropped packaged meal and forbid it, the next 9 are also safe (i play with increased stack sizes, so this is even MORE useful for me).

[Thraxon]

As said,
-The packaged meal stockpile room should be forbidden to all pawns but one cooker (using "Allowed area" in the "Restric tab" )
-The cooking "bill" is setup to "drop in the best stockpile", not on the ground .The ability level "slider" of the bill have to be setup to match with the cooker allowed

+ forbids the stacks to prevent your cooker from eating it. Or have a stockpile with lavish meals closer from the packaged meal stockpile.