Part of our mission as a church is to care for one another, especially in times of need. We already do this in many ways, but we’d like to try out a new way to coordinate help for individuals and families in our midst. MealTrain.com is an easy-to-use website that allows those in a short-term stress situation (illness, new baby, etc.) to list their needs and others to meet those needs in an appropriate and timely way.
Say Joe St. Stephens has surgery and is sent home to recover. He’s doing well, but he could use a little help with cooking, shopping, rides to the doctor, yardwork, etc. And other people want to help–they’re just unsure what is needed. That’s where MealTrain comes in! Here’s how it works:
- We set up a MealTrain account for Joe that lists his specific needs as well as important information such as food allergies and preferences, when to bring meals, how to leave them, etc.
- When people ask, “what can I do?” they’ll be sent an email invitation with a link to Joe’s MealTrain account. Then they can check out the list of needs and volunteer to help with something listed there. For instance, someone might promise to bring chicken enchiladas, salad, and a pie on July 7 at 5 p.m.
- If new needs are added or if a provider needs to cancel, these changes can be made on the MealTrain site and email notifications will be sent out to the appropriate people.
We’ve already set up our first MealTrain effort in behalf of the Warner family. If you want to help or just learn more about this initiative, click here to send an email to Anne Buchanan. Give her an email address and she’ll send you an invitation.
Because this is something new, we’ll all be learning as we go along. If all goes well, MealTrain can be an important tool for building community and helping us all care for each other.