Providing a home-cooked meal for someone going through a challenging or stressful time is a simple way to bring support and comfort right to someone’s doorstep. When a series of friends, family, and colleagues join a Meal Train it not only multiplies the meals, it amplifies the joy and delight that blossom from helping one another. The essence of Meal Train® is fostering strong, compassionate connections through meal giving.
Organizing
We often wonder if we can help but it’s much easier to know how. Taking the initiative to organize a Meal Train removes that ambiguity and transforms the helping instinct into action.
Although the main purpose of a Meal Train is delivering good food when it’s needed most, it ends up being so much more. Rallying friends and family from near and far connects people with a common, rewarding goal. A meal train makes it easy to do and energizes everyone involved with an opportunity to show kindness.
Whether the person you’re organizing for is busy welcoming a new baby, or unable to keep up with daily tasks while experiencing illness or loss, a meal train takes the task of fixing dinner off their plate. But more than that, it demonstrates that they can count on their community of friends and neighbors during hectic or challenging times.
Participating
We’ve all been through a time when we would’ve loved to have help with meals. Maybe the person you’re cooking for has been at the hospital all day drinking bad coffee and eating vending machine snacks. Or maybe they’re adjusting to a new routine as sleep-deprived parents. No matter the situation, reaching out with a delicious meal will be welcomed and appreciated.
We don’t drop off a meal so that we can get something in return. It's something we do because we want to be helpful and share a friend’s burden. There’s nothing quite like the spark of joy that comes from delivering a carefully crafted meal to a friend’s door at a time when you know they need it most. True generosity is reflected when you don’t expect anything in return - when just doing something considerate for someone you care about is enough.
Receiving
Challenging times can feel isolating and it can be hard to accept the help and support that others want to give. But when we’re open to receiving help from others, the feelings of gratitude, relief, and trust are overwhelming, as though a thousand hands are lifting us up.
A meal train hearkens back to a simpler time of neighbors helping neighbors - when it’s OK to ask for a cup of sugar when you don’t have one. Relying on one another is a fundamental part of the human code. It strengthens and sustains our interconnectedness. There’s power in feeling not too proud to ask for help, but feeling pride in your community of support.
Besides having a comforting meal on the table, the support of a meal train promises connection and caring and demonstrates our true willingness to help one another. When you drop off your lasagna you’re also delivering a slice of encouragement, a serving of compassion, and a whole plate of kindness that feeds multitudes. Set up a free Meal Train page
