Taking a Meal to a Family in Need is Easy
Taking a meal to another family is easier than we think. Even for working women, it’s easy to help another family out when there is a death, crisis, new baby, or surgery – or whatever the need may be.
If you have the mindset of cooking double, your family’s evening meal can be made at the same time!
But when you are in a hurry, there are quick and healthy options at the grocery store. This past week when my friend had surgery, Costco saved me! My favorite is to take ingredients to make a big chicken salad, along with bread to bake in the oven.
Always leave a note with instructions, in case the kids or whoever is helping with meals in the home:
1. How to bake the bread (temp and time)
2. How to make the salad
3. How to cook the corn
4. And then how to ENJOY the brownies :)
When’s the last time you took a meal to a family in need, and what did you take?
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I like taking Caesar salads using chi ken and romaine from Costco…but I just took lunch to a new momma. I made the sandwiches in advance for our family and took her a sandwich, peaches, lemonade and oatmeal cookies from the freezer. Easy peasy.
Have you ever used http://www.takethemameal.com ? It’s a fabulous website we use ALL the time for church sign ups to bring meals to those in need. I have a once a month limit to bring a meal to a family and I also save disposable containers to take the meal to them! Such a great reminder!
Becky B.
http://www.organizingmadefun.com
Organizing Made Fun
Love this!!!! (And love that I have been on the receiving end of one of your ‘save you’ meals!) Love you!!
Loved this post and enjoyed reading thru the comments for ideas!
The last time we took dinner to a friend was to my hubby’s brother and his wife when their second child, our darlin’ niece was born. Sis’s friend set up an online calendar and that is *so* the way to go!
We took:
Grilled chicken breasts
Roasted potatoes and onions w/ rosemary
Green beans cooked in the pressure cooker (we southern belles enjoy our beans *done*!! :)
And, because it was so close to Valentine’s Day, I made heart shaped sugar cookies, iced and sprinkled with red sugar.
We took them another meal a month later (ok, so wanted to take another gander at our sweet niece and, yes, play with our nephew, too!).
The week didn’t go like I’d hoped so we just called ahead to order sub sandwiches and took them by with chips and cookies. It was actually bro and sis-in-law’s idea when we took the first meal that we do a small family gathering the next time. So, with their blessing, we took enough food over for Mama, Daddy, Nephew, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle and us, too. :)
Sandy, thank you so much for this post. It seems as if there is always somebody in my community or church who I want to minister to in this way. Just this morning my co-teacher for the youth girls SS class had surgery. It’s just she and her husband at home now and how wonderful this would be for me to be able to bring him a basket like this with simple instructions and they can eat on their own schedule. Thanks so much!
Sandy, this is a wonderful post. And speaking as someone who was the recipient of many meals this spring, let me tell you–it makes a big difference! Not having to worry about dinner was a huge help to me during the time of Jack’s surgery and recovery. Thank you for the reminder that the dinner doesn’t have to be fancy to be VERY much appreciated.
I take meals to others often. And my go-to is Chicken Pot Pie. I love this option because it is meat, poataoes and veggies all in one pie. You can make it in a disposable pie tin so nothing needs be returned. I usually accompany it with pre-cut fresh fruit from the grocery store and homemade brownies on a disposable plate. You can take the pie uncooked and give baking directions so they can choose when to eat.
I brought the following to a church-member who’d had surgery:
Ham Steak
Home-made Mac & Cheese
Home-made rolls
Green Beans
Pineapple Upside-down cake
such a fun thing to do!
Fabulous idea…I’m always looking for meal ideas like this. Thanks for the help.
Have a nice day.
Thank you for the simple tips to help someone in times they need encouragement and a meal delivered by a friend. Our daughter is going through something very difficult. A couple of days ago she listened to a voicemail left by a friend from a neighboring community. The message was: “If you don’t want dinner delivered to your door around 5:00 this evening – call me!” Dinner arrived promptly at 5 p.m. amid many hugs and giggles between the two friends. It meant the world to our daughter – and to us. It’s really a small thing to do to bless someone when things are a bit topsy-turvy!
great points, sandy!! :)
i took a meal last week to a dear friend who just had a baby … i brought all the fixin’s for TACO’s, and it was SUPER easy. i ground beef and seasoned it (lots of cumin, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper); cooked a big batch of brown rice in the rice cooker; had a big pot of pinto beans i’d cooked earlier in the week for our family. i put each of these 3 things in separate rubbermaid containers. then i bought a carton of sour cream and salsa; a bag of grated cheese and a bag of tortilla chips, and a bag of soft corn tortillas. i also put a large pineapple in the box.
my friend said they ended up making nachos w/the food and loved it! super simple.
( i got my inspiration for this from one of the meals brought to our family when i had josiah a few months ago … it was, hands down, our fave. and it gave lots of leftovers!)
Ok, I love this. I was planning to do a rotisserie chicken with salad & garlic bread as inspired by the post, but I think this “tacos n fixins” is super fun, totally indulgent and easy for the giver as well!
I took a couple dinners to my husband’s coworker a few weeks ago after his wife had their first baby. The first time I brought provencial lamb and arugula salad with lemon viniagrette from one of my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks along with ciabatta from a local bakery and cookies for dessert. The next time I brought baked chicken taquitos (with roasted salsa verde, sour cream and a quick guac) and a black bean tomato salad from a food blog I read frequently – and overnight cinnamon rolls with fresh berries for the next morning.
I loooove bringing meals to people, and often I get forwarded invitations to bring meals for friends of friends who I don’t know, so I get to meet someone new in the process. My family loves it, too, because they know they’ll get dessert that night!
Families really do have a new definition, don’t they? It warms my heart to see families continue to be families, even after divorce.
I haven’t done this since we’ve lived in Kyiv- all expectant mothers and serious surgeries are medivac’d out of the country. It’s such a blessing to do it, and I appreciated being on the receiving end, too! {sweet corn on the cob…I can almost taste it!!!}
I just took dinner to some friends after she gave birth! I made Pioneer Woman’s mondo sliders, baked sweet potato wedges, and for dessert, I grilled pineapple and served it with ice cream. They all loved it…especially the big brother. : )
Through all this, I was introduced to a website called Food Tidings. You can set up a delivery period, email to friends and loved ones and allow them to sign up online. It even sends email reminders and gives food allergies, etc. Pretty dang cool!
I think you’ve mentioned this before, but I’m glad you did another post on taking a meal over to someone in need.
It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but now I’ll make more of an effort. One of my friends will be “widowed” in a week or so when her boyfriend leaves for a volunteer trip to Costa Rica. I know she’ll be super lonely so I was planning on visiting a bit more, but taking a meal over will definitely help out too.
Thank you!
I really enjoy taking meals to other families. My go-to meal is usually Southwest Chicken Salad (it varies, but it usually includes romaine with tomatoes, cukes, black beans, corn, rotisserie chicken, cheese and pine-nuts) with Spicy Ranch Dressing along with tortilla chips on the side and a great dessert. I have been guilty in the past of planning the desserts long before considering what would be served for dinner!
What a great post! This has great information and tips. Good work girl!
I definitely think it’s okay to include a Costco rotisserie chicken in the dinner for your friends, but to not bake the bread? To not put cooked veggies in a dish? I think that’s cutting corners too much. Most people have frozen veggies in their freezer to pull out and heat up. The whole point of taking a meal to someone is to have the dinner cooked and ready for their family to enjoy!
Hi, Elle. It’s not about being critical, but blessing another family. I did include a vegetable (salad) and I like for the family to bake the bread because it’s on their schedule and comes out of the oven nice and warm. :)
To bring cooked veggies in a dish any distance only increases the likelihood that those veggies will be an overcooked mess by the time they get there. I never precook veggies.
For me, the point is to bless another family whether it’s already fully cooked or not. I see nothing wrong with minimal preparation. I tend to go all out when I bring dinners because I enjoy it, but since I have to drive up to 30 minutes (or more in rush hour) to deliver meals, for food safety sake I often bring something earlier in the day so they can reheat at their convenience – and so my family can eat at a reasonable time. I’ve never gotten a complaint that the dinner isn’t cooked and ready for their family to enjoy upon delivery … people tend to contact me after to comliment me on the meal. If nothing else, one can appreciate the thought and expense that went into it.
Okay Sandy, I stand corrected. And I honestly wasn’t trying to be critical or mean-spirited, so I’m sorry if it came across that way. I can take a meal to anyone in my town in about 5 minutes, so there aren’t any food safety concerns. Plus, I always call ahead to see what time that specific family eats dinner, so that I bring it on their schedule (not mine). So, to me, I like to go all-out with a fully-cooked meal. But, at the end of the day, you’re right…families are simply blessed to have one less meal to prepare in a time of need. :)
I’ve been having talks with myself lately about not just intending to do this but actually doing it more often! Someone always needs a meal and it means so much to help out. My hang up has been feeling that it has to be presented cutely, completely made, and perfect. I’m going to try really hard to take my cue from you.
I love that you’re bringing me dinner!!!
Ohhhhh, wait.
Taking my cue from you, Sandy, I contacted a neighbor I don’t know very well, who just had a baby and offered to bring them a meal, just last week. I was thrilled when she agreed :) My husband plays baseball with a gentleman whose wife was shattered her wrist in a car accident, so we made a double batch for both those families.
Lasagne is usually my go-to meal to take. That, along with a salad, bread and a bottle of wine (I completely forgot to bring a dessert–oops!).
It feel so good to show Christ’s love through this simple gesture, and it’s a great way to make new friends. Speaking from experience from when my twins were born, it means so very much when meals are provided, it just makes things easier to have one less thing to worry about.
The last meal we provided was to my ex-husband and his wife for the arrival of their new baby from the hospital (families carry a new definition these days!). We just doubled the recipe for our spaghetti sauce, took over a box of noodles, some pre-made salad in the bag, and some frozen garlic bread to shove in the oven.
The other one i have done is a chicken, rice and broccoli bake because they can freeze it for later.
It’s been over a year since I took a meal to a church member/neighbor who was going through chemo and her family. My go-to meal was a ham steak, homemade mac and cheese, fresh green beans drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt, salt and pepper, and oatmeal raisin cookies. Her favorite? The green beans! She even asked for the recipe. :)
This is such a wonderful idea! It’s often easy to get into the routine of feeding people in our home, while forgetting those who can’t make it out of theirs.