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 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.