It's been a year full of great challenges and great encouragement for my family. Facing the worries and fears of my infant son needing two heart surgeries, I had to rely on the support of friends and family more than ever. One of those people was my dear friend, Sarah. Sarah wanted to help by setting up a meal schedule for us but I was afraid of letting people into our home because of germs. We needed to keep my son as healthy and free of sickness as possible; even a cold could mean a trip to the ER. That's when Sarah had the amazing idea of gifting us with freezer meals! I sat down with her to learn about the process.

Maureen: What gave you the idea to do a freezer meal workshop?

Sarah: After attending a workshop that a friend had hosted, and coming away with 10 delicious meals for my own family, I thought it would be an awesome way to get a group of women together to bless not only their own family with meals, but also to bless another family, by giving away some of the meals.

M: How did you decide who to invite?

S: I invited the women in our church who are married with more than just a husband to feed, as the meals typically serve 4 to 6 (with some leftovers too!).

M: How did the workshop work?

S: There are a few different ways you could do it. I sent out a list of the ten meals that we would be putting together, with the specific grocery items that would be needed. Each person bought and prepped the main ingredients for the ten meals at home, prior to the party. We used a company called Wildtree which provided the recipes and additional ingredients to complete the meals at the party. You could also organize a party without a consultant. After choosing which recipes you'd like to use (TakeThemAMeal.com has some great freezer meal recipes), each person coming to the party would choose which recipe they'd like to make. They would buy and prep all the ingredients to make that one meal for each person coming to the party. Then, each person sets up a station where guests can assemble the meal, put it in a freezer bag, and take it home to stock their freezer!

M: How did you label and organize the meals?

S: I had numbered stick-on labels for each meal. Each label detailed the name of the dish, the ingredients, and how to cook the meal. I also set up a Perfect Potluck schedule for each person to list what they would be making for you so that you didn't receive 10 freezer bags full of chili!

After the party, Sarah's husband brought a cooler to our doorstep and dropped off the delicious meals to fill our freezer and be used at our convenience. This has been such a gift to us! Many of them require nothing more than placing it in the crockpot and turning to low. A few weeks ago, I had a long doctor's appointment with all three kids. I was exhausted and making dinner was the last thing on my mind. I pulled out a freezer meal and it hit the spot.

If you know of someone who would be blessed by meals for themselves or their family but may not be able to welcome people into their home because of germs or other reasons consider setting up a freezer meal workshop. It is a fun way to come together and fellowship in service for someone else by blessing them with the gift of a freezer full of easy dinners.