Yesterday, I dropped off food for the family of a friend who has just become a hospice patient. I enjoy cooking. I guess you could say it is my love language. So this was an opportunity to share my love and caring for my friend and her family.
How did this come about? A few days ago I received an email from Meal Train. At first I thought it was a phishing email, but I noticed three of my friends received the same message. So I called one of them. She had the same question and was about to call a friend of the potential recipient. Unfortunately, it was not a scam. The request was legitimate. I mention this to say it might be a good idea first to let people know the friend or loved one is having medical issues. But I digress.
Meal Train is an online service on which one can easily set parameters in a request for help. Information such as food allergies and restrictions, acceptable drop-off times, and number of people for whom you are providing meals can be entered. Suggested gift cards to restaurants and even cash donations can be requested. The idea is to make it easy for the volunteers to know how to help. The organizer sets up dates and times for delivery.
One nice feature is that everyone who has been invited to participate can see what everyone else is providing. I found that helpful to ensure I didn’t duplicate foods that someone else had already provided or planned to. The recipients get to experience a lot of different dishes.
We always say “please let me know how I can help.” But the person who is ill rarely will ask. Sometimes they don’t want to put others out. Sometimes, they simply don’t know what they need. For the friends, we wonder how much is helpful and how much is an intrusion during difficult times. With the Meal Train, most of the questions are answered in a polite and efficient manner.
Meal Train sends tips and reminders once you sign up. If participants read those messages, the information is valuable. One tip that wasn’t made clear but which I know I appreciated when I had help, was to take the food in containers that can be used to heat the food and then simply toss it. No one wants to spend hours in the kitchen away from the loved one. So many affordable disposable options are available, making it easy for both the recipient and the volunteer. In fact, I keep aluminum foil baking pans, “paper” bowls, and heavy disposable flatware on hand. Whenever someone leaves my house with leftovers, I don’t have to worry about getting my dishes back and they don’t have to worry about returning them. Win. Win.
Looking for more information I found other sites that provide similar services. Some of those are Give In Kind, SignUp Genius, Care Calendar, Lotsa Helping Hands, and Take Them A Meal. Likely there are many others. Find a site, as these do, that allows you to set up a schedule at no charge.
Next time you need to organize meal deliveries to family and friends, consider using one of these sites. Once set up, coordinating and volunteering are easy, efficient, and very helpful. Choo choo. I’m hopping on the Meal Train!
Silver Sage Sisters 