How to Set Up a Meal Train for Those in Need
Welcoming a new baby is a blessed time for families, but during this time, they will need support from their communities to help them through. For my family, we have had a meal train after the birth of each of our children. It was such a tangible experience of love from our community. In this blogpost I’m sharing the basic information on how to get one started for the family in your parish who just welcomed a new baby!
Here are some ways to get started:
💕What is a meal train?
Meal Train is an organized way for friends and family to deliver home-cooked meals to someone who’s going through a life changing event, like adding a new child! It’s a caring way to ensure the family doesn’t have to think about grocery shopping or preparing meals.
💕How can I start a meal train?
There are a number of websites set up for this purpose:
💕www.Mealtrain.com
💕www.Takethemameal.com
💕www.Giveinkind.com
💕 Determining Preferences
Once you have determined which website to use, you’ll need to speak with the parents to get their preferences:
✨ Are there any food allegories. Major dislikes?
✨Establish how to deliver meals: time of day preferences, disposable containers, short visit?
💕Create a meal delivery schedule
To coordinate meals set up a schedule with the meatrain website. I find that every day for the first few days is helpful and then every other day after that! The length of the meal train will depend on each person. 2 -4 weeks seems like a good amount of time.
💕Invite friends and family
One or two people usually take the lead and recruit other people to participate in the train. There are many ways to invite others to participate, including email, text, Facebook, and Instagram. After accepting the invitation, participants can sign up for a date and provide a meal. Participants can also see what other people are bringing, which prevents your recipient from getting lasagna three nights in a row.
Personal Reflection
We have been so fortunate to be on the receiving end of a meal train in various times of our life. Most especially after the birth of a child. As I am writing this, I am taking breaks to eat some of the nourishing food delivered to us by our dear friends and parishioners who have showered us with so much love in this season. If your church does not offer this for parents after the birth of a child, I would highly encourage you to get one started! Each meal is like a big hug, and it is such a blessing to not have to think about food preparations and meals during this special and unique time.