Meal Trains
Practice
Keep it simple. Delivering food is an act of care, not a competition.
Save a few trusted recipes that you feel comfortable making.
Store ingredients in your pantry or meals in your freezer.
Hold to faith in how a delivered meal is a timeless act of loving your neighbor.
“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with them… The people who give you their food give you their heart.”
Providing meals is a nourishing way to love your neighbors. It may be for a family welcoming home a new child or welcoming a new neighbor to the neighborhood. It may be a meal for someone recovering from an illness or sifting through the loss of a family member or friend. Whatever the circumstances, delivering a meal is a way to care for our neighbors when life seems overwhelming.
Meal trains arrange delivering meals for neighbors, coworkers, congregants, or friends. Online tools mealtrain.com and takethemameal.com were both developed by people caring for their friends in a time of need. Meal trains are one aspect of Denver based company withlome.com which builds thoughtful technology to help people serve their community. The digital tools offer helpful information about food preferences and important food restrictions. They provide clarity on days when meals would be the most helpful and the organization to avoid three lasagnas delivered on a Saturday when family is in town to help with cooking, and no food plan on Wednesday when you are feeling alone and overwhelmed.
Corporate food delivery services like DoorDash may be appropriate for supporting people far away, but the act of taking food to the front door makes the practice far more grounded. Even if delivering the meal is only a brief exchange to offer a smile and a word of encouragement, the embodied practice of being present is incredibly important.
A few of the best practices from trusted friends who deliver dozens of meals each year: Consider if there are young children in the home and what they may enjoy eating. Fresh fruit cut up for kids is always appreciated. Provide food that reheats well, they may not have time to enjoy it the moment it arrives. Deliver food in disposable containers and consider bringing paper goods to give them permission to take a night off from doing dishes. Be aware of the circumstances; offer to deliver food at the door for those who are navigating new realities, offer to stay for those in seasons of isolation because of illness or death. Consider providing breakfast for the next morning by including fruit, boiled eggs, or breakfast burritos. Be mindful of bringing healthy food over comfort food as caring for your body in difficult and dark seasons can be hard.
Katy Newton and her husband have been preparing and delivering meals for decades. “When I look at the preparation and delivery of the food as an act of service, it's not about me and whether I got to see the new baby or receive a verbal and effusive thank you when I show up with dinner. It's about taking the stress of meal prep and planning off the shoulders of someone who is struggling. I think that's the biggest life lesson that I have learned through participating in meal trains. It's not about me, it's about being the hands and feet of Christ. Receiving meals isn't about me either, take what is offered, try new things and appreciate the effort that someone else put in that dinner.”
The practice of providing and delivering a meal is a way to give, and receive, nourishment from our neighbors.
Thank you to Rachelle Miller, Doug and Katy Newton, Jocelyn Newby, and Alyssa Alexander for their contributions to this article.
RESOURCE | Take Them A Meal Manual
“This resource gives meal ideas for a main dish as well as a few sides. Maybe you make a home cooked meal, or maybe you stop by to drop of some store bought muffins and a hot coffee. Either way, at the end of the day, the goal is that the person would feel seen and loved through your serving them in this way.”
