Planning meals for a family, no matter the size, can create a lot of unwanted stress and take up much needed time. One of our favorite ways to help our friends is planning to bring meals on specific days of the week. After a stressful day at work, driving the kids around to their activities, or taking care of a sick family member, there is so much relief in knowing that dinner is taken care of.
It can be difficult, though, when too many friends want to bring meals and don't know when to bring them. Leaving you with 5 casseroles on Wednesday night and nothing on Sunday. WhatFriendsDo makes the process of creating a calendar to schedule meals so easy for both you and your friends. By allowing team members to view the team calendar, they can see when you want meals and when others have signed up to bring those meals. There are also ways to let your team members know what kind of meals you would like, taking the guesswork out the process for them!
Here are some questions Jen came up with to guide you through the process:
- Does your friend or their family have food allergies or dietary restrictions?
- What are a few favorite meals?
- How many people will you need to feed?
- Would your friend prefer to have meals delivered regularly or have a weekly drop off of meals that can be frozen and kept for the week?
- Where is the best place to have food delivered?
- Would your friend prefer gift cards to restaurants? Sometimes if they are traveling back and forth to the hospital or appointments gift cards are easier. If so, choose a few gift cards to your friend's favorite restaurants under "gift cards" on your team page.
Imagine how good it will feel to know you have helped your friend and his/her family in such a meaningful way. Whether its a gift card to their favorite restaurant, or the kids' favorite homemade mac and cheese dish, your thoughtfulness will surely be appreciated. You can always visit our website at WhatFriendsDo.com to see more tips and ideas about what items to bring as a meal for your friend. We would love to hear about personal experiences with bringing meals or having meals brought to your family!