July 4 food mail orders a big business in US

New York

EVERY Fourth of July, Steve Clark, a lobbyist from Ohio, sends the same gift to his clients: a pack of ribs, barbecue sauce and a carton of ice cream from his home state.

This year, he ordered 165 such packages from Montgomery Inn, a barbecue restaurant in a Cincinnati suburb, which packed the items in dry ice and shipped them off in coolers. "My clients love it," Mr Clark said. "They tell me they look forward to it every year."