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(in)frequently asked questions . . .
Click on any question below to learn more.
What is TakeThemAMeal.com?
TakeThemAMeal.com is an online tool for coordinating the delivery of meals to loved ones. If someone is ill, elderly, or has had a new baby, oftentimes family, friends, co-workers, church members rally around these families to take them meals. In the past, one person would coordinate (by phone or e-mail) the scheduling of the meals. Now, the meal coordinator can use TakeThemAMeal.com to allow the meal providers to sign up for the day or days when they will provide meals to the meal recipients.
Is TakeThemAMeal.com a free service?
Yes! Feel free to use it often, and tell your family, friends and co-workers about it. It is absolutely free!
How are meals provided through TakeThemAMeal.com?
Most meal providers prepare meals in their own kitchens or order local carryout/delivery for the meal recipient(s). We offer meals that can be shipped to the meal recipient if you live out of town or if you would like to have a meal delivered.
Will meal providers be reminded of their upcoming meals to provide?
If a meal provider enters an e-mail address when they sign up to provide a meal, they will get an e-mail reminder the day before they are to provide the meal.
What e-mails should each person involved in the meal schedule expect to receive?
The meal coordinator will receive a confirmation e-mail including all the details pertaining to the meal schedule and the administrative password. If a meal provider enters an e-mail address when signing up to provide a meal, they will get an e-mail reminder the day before she/he is to provide the meal (the meal coordinator and meal recipient will be copied on this e-mail). The meal recipient will not receive e-mail notification about the creation of the meal schedule. Our desire is for a meal coordinator to let the recipient know about the creation of the meal schedule.
What's the best way to enter e-mail addresses in "Invite Friends"?
When inviting friends, you can paste a list of e-mails into the "Invite Friends" box as long as each address is separated by a comma (,) or a semicolon (;). You do not need to type in each individual address. When you create your second schedule, you will be recognized as a previous coordinator by your e-mail address and all the e-mail addresses you have used in the past will be available to you in the "Invite Friends" box. If you prefer, you can also send an invitation to your personal e-mail account and forward it to your group from your own account.
As a meal recipient, can I get a list of who has brought me meals?
Indeed! Click on the "Show # Previous Meals" link at the top of the "Date" column of your meal schedule.
The information I originally entered for the meal schedule is now incorrect. Help!
No problem at all! Once on the recipient's meal schedule, type in your administrative password in the form in the upper right corner of the page. Click "Edit Schedule" on the gold bar and make your changes. When you're done, click "Submit schedule details" at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
Do I need to create a new schedule if more meals are needed? How do I extend my schedule?
Your schedule can be extended at any point. Enter your administrative password in the upper right corner of your schedule and select "Edit schedule" on the gold bar. Select a new end date and click "Submit schedule details" to save your new end date. If you need to customize your dates further, select "Add custom dates" on the gold bar.
How do I end a schedule if people are signed up and the meals are no longer needed?
Enter your administrative password in the upper right corner of the schedule. On the gold bar, click 'Send e-mails' and select 'Everyone providing a meal'. In the box, compose a message letting people know that meals are no longer needed. After sending the message, click 'Disable schedule' on the gold bar. This will disable all the reminder e-mails as well. If you would need to access the schedule again, you will receive an e-mail letting you know how to reactivate the schedule.
Oops --- I seem to have forgotten my administrative password. Should I set up a new account?
No need to set up a new account. When viewing the meal schedule, take a guess at your admin password. If you enter the incorrect password, you will be given the option to have your password e-mailed to you.
What tips do you have for churches?
If a church will be regularly setting up schedules, it can be helpful to always use the same password. That way, church members can access a schedule if they know the recipient's last name. Churches can also enter their church name in the last name field when setting up a schedule. That way a search by the church name and church password would result in a list of all the church's active meal schedules.
I'd like to set up a schedule for my friend who is having a baby soon but we don't know exactly when the baby will arrive. How should I proceed?
Providing meals when a new baby arrives can be such a blessing for the parents, but you don't always know the exact date little ones will arrive. To accommodate this uncertainty, we suggest the following:
- Create a schedule by entering in all the information you know (coordinator and recipient contact information, relevant notes, etc.)
- Set a start date for the schedule by estimating the baby's arrival/due date.
- Ask two friends if they will commit to providing the first two meals on the schedule. One tip to make this easier is to have the friends prepare a freezer meal in advance so that it can be dropped off on short notice.
- Do not send out information about the schedule (or invitations through the site) until the baby is born. That way, you can adjust the dates once the baby is here and meals will come just at the right time. The two freezer meals help take care of the beginning of the schedule while the rest of the schedule fills out.
My friend's need for meals is going to be irregular (i.e. we might need to start and stop meals suddenly). What is the best way to set up the meal schedule?
- Set up a schedule for a few meals per week for a few months. In the Note, let people know that the need for meals varies and that you will let meal providers know if you need to suspend the schedule.
- When the time comes that meals are not needed for a while, use our "Send e-mail" coordinator feature to let everyone who is signed up know that meals are not needed until further notice. Then, you can deactivate the schedule until you need it again. This will stop all reminder e-mails.
- When you know meals are going to be needed you can reactivate the schedule and pick up where you left off. Use the "Send e-mail" feature again to let meal providers know that the upcoming meals are needed.
- Finally, see if a few friends would prepare freezer meals that could be used in a pinch. You could keep the meals at your house and take them over when there is a last minute need, or you could make certain the family always has a meal or two on hand to use until you get the schedule going again.
Gift cards to the hospital cafeteria can also be a nice gesture if they are spending a lot of time in and out of the hospital.
As a meal coordinator, what do I do if people are still calling me instead of using the web site?
Not everyone will want to, or be comfortable using the web site to sign up for the day when they will take a meal. If you receive a call, just visit the web site, and sign that person up online. Thus, the schedule will stay up to date.
I'd like to have a meal schedule created for me because of illness, new baby, etc. but do not want to act as the coordinator. What can I do?
While some people may feel comfortable creating a schedule for themselves and being the one to invite others to participate, other people are not. If you are comfortable acting as coordinator, feel free to create a schedule for yourself. However, if you would prefer the schedule be coordinated by someone else, consider who would best serve in this capacity for you (friend, relative, co-worker, church member, etc.) and then ask them to help you in this way. We have found that most people are more than happy to help, though not everyone thinks ahead to offer to create a schedule. You could even offer to create the schedule yourself but have their name and contact information listed as the coordinator so that when invitations are sent out, they are listed under the coordinator's name, rather than your own.
How does TakeThemAMeal.com work without accounts?
We created the site during a crisis situation and we needed people to have easy access to the meal schedule. We have simplified the process for setting up meal schedules and signing up for meals by eliminating the need for accounts. Coordinators are recognized by their e-mail addresses and that is how their schedules are linked together. After a coordinator sets up a second schedule, she will see that she has access to all her schedules when she is logged in as coordinator of any of her schedules.
Does TakeThemAMeal.com accept international addresses?
Yes! When setting up a meal schedule use the link labeled "Click here for a non - U.S. address" to switch to an international address instead of a domestic address.
What is the TakeThemAMeal.com privacy policy?
Excellent question, in this digital age. Click here to review our privacy policy.
Who created and is maintaining TakeThemAMeal.com?
Scott Rogers and Adina Bailey, located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. If you have comments, questions or suggestions, please call (800-915-7715) or send an e-mail to info@TakeThemAMeal.com.
How do you provide this web site for free?
The majority of the financial resources for keeping this web site up and running are contributed by individuals, churches, organizations and companies. Click here to become a financial partner.
Take me back to schedule some meals!
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