Giving Food and Giving Grace

ADINA BAILEY

Little by little, states are beginning to relax their COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. I've been thinking a lot about what this will mean for taking meals. Even within my own neighborhood and circle of friends, we each have our own timetable for when we will start back into certain aspects of life.

Thankfully, the CDC has consistently said that taking meals (when prepared and delivered with proper precautions) is safe. With that said, as life opens up a bit more, we're going to need to give each other LOTS OF GRACE regarding what is comfortable to meal providers and recipients.

Personally, I have continued to take meals and plan to continue taking them, but I'm not ready to walk into someone's home even if invited. I will continue with no contact porch deliveries for a while because we have a child with immune system issues. For this reason, our family will continue to be careful.

As I've been thinking through my own decision regarding taking meals and the personal considerations involved, I thought we might all be able to use the following encouragement:

Meal Providers

Understand that your recipient may not want friends or family in the home yet. This means new babies might be shown through a window and meals put in coolers. This in no way implies you are unwelcome, but the recipient is being careful and it's important to respect his/her needs. I recently heard of a meal coordinator who put a notebook outside on a cooler, so friends dropping off meals could leave notes and messages for the recipient.

On the other hand, if you are providing a meal and invited into a home, it's okay to say no. You can send your well wishes from a safe distance before returning to your car.

Meal Recipients

Make your wishes for deliveries clear, so your meal coordinator can include them in your meal schedule. It's okay to be as careful as you want when receiving meals. You're not being unwelcoming or ungrateful, but you are doing what you feel is best for you and/or your family during this time.

If you are comfortable having friends bring meals into your home, know that some friends may not be ready to do that yet. Leave a cooler outside for those friends who would like to drop off their meal. Place a note on your door giving friends permission to knock when you are up for visitors.

For a while, we're all going to have different needs when giving or receiving meals and that's okay. In some ways, taking meals has always involved being considerate of what is most helpful for the meal recipient. COVID-19 has just added another layer. It's nothing we can't handle together!

Photo: @nature_photography_by_em

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