What’s a Fair Rate?

Arrived at my parents’ house to a lovely lunch of pittu, fish curry, fried fish, and vadai. My dad doesn’t really cook, and my mother is still in the rehab facility, but he’s lucky that there are some young Sri Lankan families nearby that he has good relationships with, and they’ve been dropping off meals for him occasionally, so he can have Sri Lankan food, instead of just what he can buy for meals at the store / hospital / restaurants.

One thing I’d like to figure out this week is what’s a fair amount to pay for that kind of service; it’s lovely that they do it out of the goodness of their hearts, but if this is going to be an ongoing thing, we want to be sure no one is being taken advantage of. He’s actually been paying them some, but I think it probably should be more, esp. given the rising cost of groceries.

Would appreciate ballpark estimates — if someone is going to buy the groceries needed, cook, drop off say 2-3 curries twice a week, and do any dishes that are around when they come by (which would help him), what do you think a fair rate for that would be?

The worth of the care that these young women put into helping him can’t be measured, of course, but we can at least make sure they’re paid fairly for their labor.

Thanks!