Does your church do a meals ministry?

[Marie463]

If so, how does it operate? Do you use one of those online services to coordinate meals? Is it just a bunch of phone calls?

 

I'm particularly interested in learning about how you all in medium-sized churches handles meals (say, 600-800 people where not everyone knows everyone else).

 

Thanks!

[MomOfOneFunOne]

We have at least two that I know of and I suspect more. The one I'm on is the funeral meals. There is one . . . mmmm . . . director. She's the one that gets the calls from Father or the parish secretary. There are 10 teams of 10 ladies each. The director calls the team leader. the team leader calls her team. The team members bring the food, packaged a certain way, in certain kinds of boxes, to the team leader. The team leader and the director deliver the meals to the home.

 

We have a v.e.r.y. active Meals on Wheels group, as well. Two good friends are involved but I'm not so I don't exactly know how that goes.

 

I'm not sure how it works but the church where we generally attend daily mass has a fridge with two signs on it. One is large and says that anyone in need of a meal should please take whatever is necessary and has a phone number in case one know of someone needing delivery/visit. The other explains the ministry and asks for specific kinds of meals. It seems they want it fully stocked at all times and there seems to be a contact person heading it all up. It specifically states that even if you know someone who just had a baby or got laid off or anything, just take what you need. I peeked. There were just a few things in the fridge but the freezer was packed. This seems like a very active ministry as well.

 

At our old parish, we did it the same way my current parish does but instead of just funerals or just babies, et c., the one food committee handled all food needs.

 

and, strangely, I've never been part of a medium size parish. I've been member of a very, very small parish and of a very large one (the cathedral).

Edited May 14, 2010 by MomOfOneFunOne

[KrissiK]

I've been in a couple different church groups that did meals for people who've recently had babies or surgery or some other need. The one group I was in was fairly small, so there was just a coordinator and people signed up if they were interested in being called and the coordinator called them when a need arose.

 

The other group was my church (large church 1200 attendance), but it was up to the individual Sunday School classes to take over that service. When we adopted our kids our Sunday school class organized meals for us for a couple of weeks.

 

One thing to remember... a lot of times people bring way too much food when they bring it, so often there are leftovers. One group I was in brought meals every other day just to cut down on the leftovers.

 

Oh, and other thing... when we got the boys, one of the ladies brought over a huge bag of homemade frozen stuff - spaghetti sauce, rice, enchiladas, etc. and I just put that in my freezer so later on, when then meals had stopped I could get that out. What a wonderful idea. She was a life saver!

[BikeBookBread]

In our large-ish church (about 1500) meals are left up to the small groups and sunday school classes. I think A LOT of people fall through the cracks...if someone isn't in a small group or sunday school, they're pretty much out of luck.

[dsmith]

Ours can be for any reason - baby, funeral, sickness, unemployment, etc. Any one who recieves meals is expected to provide meals in the future, if possible. My mom had meals dropped off for a few days when she hurt her back, and a few months later provided meals for a mom who just had twins. It works nicely. I'm not sure how it's coordinated.

[Susan in TN]

Our church (roughly 400-500) has a volunteer "meals coordinator" (which changes occassionally) - anyone who knows of anyone that could use meals contacts her, and she puts it up on an online care calendar. www.carecalendar.org Our coordinator emails the list of meal providers (people who have volunteered) and they sign up on the online calendar.

 

The meal coordinator calls the family in need to find out what their needs are, dietary issues, etc. Typically, anyone who has a baby has an every-other-day for two weeks schedule. Sometimes a person's S.S. class has taken care of the meals already. Sometimes there are emergencies (hospitalization, death, illness) and a general call / email for immediate help goes out. When I had my last baby (6th) people brought us meals 3-4 times a week for a month. I cannot express how wonderful it was to be loved and cared for by so many.

 

Our pastor mentions frequently that a sign of a healthy church is "Saints bearing casseroles." :)

[happyhomemaker25]

We had a great one for awhile. My friend and I were coordinating it. When I got pregnant and she went back to work it was harder and we have not done much with it.

We would have a Ladies Cooking Day about once every three months. We would then cook and prepare and freeze or can a few different meals in a large quantity. It worked out great because we had fellowship time and many hands make light work.

I had the big freezer so I kept the meals at my house. Either I would take it to the family or someone would pick them up.

I am hoping to pick it back up late this year or early next year.

[ScoutTN]

I go to a large church 2000+.

 

Women's ministry coordinates meals ministry. There is a freezer where "mercy" meals are stocked and someone is in charge of that - labeling, sorting etc. There are handouts by the freezer with food allergy related meal suggestions from moms who know about these first-hand. And a general suggestions one too with what is most needed currently. The Youth group sometimes cooks at one of the kids' homes and adds to the freezer. Many people do as I do and just set aside an extra portion when they make something that freezes well.

 

There are two women in charge of each the areas in which someone would not usually need meals for a long time: new baby, death in the family, short illness/surgery/recovery. These are usually handled by phone. Often friends will completely cover these needs. Three meals is the standard for new babies - usually after any extra help or family has gone home.

 

Then we have meals for widowers - we have a number of older men who basically don't cook and are relatively infirm and live alone. So a few ladies head up a group which coordinates ongoing support, including a couple meals each week.

 

Then there is the big one. Long term mercy meals. These usually are coordinated by one person (usually a close friend of the family) through a website because it is the easiest way to communicate and to have various groups of people: neighbors, co-workers, church, etc. all participate. We have about 6 of these up and running right now for cancer patients. This often coordinates more than meals - transportation, childcare, housecleaning, home/yard maintenance etc. depending on the needs.

 

We have a huge extra deal going right now too because of the massive flood here two weeks ago. While the short term meal needs from the flood are mostly over, we have 15 families who lost their homes or whose houses are long term rehab projects. So we are providing meals either to them or to the families who are hosting them.

 

Anyone can activate the meals ministry simply by calling the women's ministry director, a pastor or the church office.

 

hth :)

[chiguirre]

Our parish runs a soup kitchen in East Houston to provide meals to the homeless. It's run by 2 nuns but funded by the parish. It's about a 40 minute drive away from the church/school complex so it's not a drop-in type of volunteer ministry.

 

I've never seen a meals ministry in the bulletin, but the Catholic hs group does this for members who've had babies.

[AFwife Claire]

Our church, which has about 200 people, uses http://www.takethemameal.com/. It's great! One lady, my good friend, is the one who gets called about babies, sickness, etc., and she sends out a message to the whole church asking for meal volunteers. She gives the link to the page she has set up on the website, along with the password. People sign up online for the day they want, and the website sends reminder emails. Also, if you sign up, you can get directions to the person's house who needs the meal. It's so convenient! And no one person has to deal with a zillion phone calls about people needing to switch or be reminded or whatever. Highly recommended!

[Jean in Newcastle]

 

I'm not sure how it works but the church where we generally attend daily mass has a fridge with two signs on it. One is large and says that anyone in need of a meal should please take whatever is necessary and has a phone number in case one know of someone needing delivery/visit. The other explains the ministry and asks for specific kinds of meals. It seems they want it fully stocked at all times and there seems to be a contact person heading it all up. It specifically states that even if you know someone who just had a baby or got laid off or anything, just take what you need. I peeked. There were just a few things in the fridge but the freezer was packed. This seems like a very active ministry as well.

 

 

I'm curious as to what kinds of meals are pre-stocked. I've been wanting to do something like this in our tiny church (20 people). And I think that having some meals already made for people to take as needed would work best. In a tiny church everyone is doing double and triple duty because we're our own janitors and landscaping crew as well as S.S. teachers etc.

[OnTheBrink]

If so, how does it operate? Do you use one of those online services to coordinate meals? Is it just a bunch of phone calls?

 

I'm particularly interested in learning about how you all in medium-sized churches handles meals (say, 600-800 people where not everyone knows everyone else).

 

Thanks!

 

My church has about 400 people. We have a list of ladies who are willing to help bring meals for the sick, new moms, other situations as they warrant. There are two deaconesses in charge of calling the ladies on the list and scheduling the meals. They also check with the family about allergies, preferences and try to ensure they don't receive 2 lasagnas in a row. LOL

 

We also have a funeral meal ministry. After a funeral, we provide a lunch or dinner for the family and whoever else attended the funeral UNLESS it's a huge funeral, then the meal is for family and close friends.

 

We also have a Wednesday night dinner ministry. Volunteers sign up to cook for about 150 people, then others volunteer to clean it all up.

[6packofun]

All I know is that a meals ministry *MUST* coordinate among those offering meals to be sure that there are few or no repeat meals. PLEASE. When we had our 6th baby, our church lovingly sent us meals: 7 meals, FIVE of which were a form of baked ziti or other pasta in tomato sauce. Really. I appreciated it, but don't like any one meal THAT much. LOL!!!

[AFwife Claire]

All I know is that a meals ministry *MUST* coordinate among those offering meals to be sure that there are few or no repeat meals. PLEASE. When we had our 6th baby, our church lovingly sent us meals: 7 meals, FIVE of which were a form of baked ziti or other pasta in tomato sauce. Really. I appreciated it, but don't like any one meal THAT much. LOL!!!

 

See, that's where something online, like takethemameal.com, is great. You can enter what you are bringing, so people signing up can see what is being brought by others. Also, you can go back and edit it if you decide on something different.

[Lilymax]

Our church (roughly 400-500) has a volunteer "meals coordinator" (which changes occassionally) - anyone who knows of anyone that could use meals contacts her, and she puts it up on an online care calendar. www.carecalendar.org Our coordinator emails the list of meal providers (people who have volunteered) and they sign up on the online calendar.

 

The meal coordinator calls the family in need to find out what their needs are, dietary issues, etc. Typically, anyone who has a baby has an every-other-day for two weeks schedule. Sometimes a person's S.S. class has taken care of the meals already. Sometimes there are emergencies (hospitalization, death, illness) and a general call / email for immediate help goes out. When I had my last baby (6th) people brought us meals 3-4 times a week for a month. I cannot express how wonderful it was to be loved and cared for by so many.

 

Our pastor mentions frequently that a sign of a healthy church is "Saints bearing casseroles." :)

 

LOL! I like that saying. Our church only has 150-ish members but we use that website, too. I LOVED getting meals after our last was born. I had health problems after the birth and it was a true Godsend. And I love helping out in this way. It's a small thing to do that means so much to those who need it.

[jentancalann]

We do it by Sunday School class. Even if a couple/individual doesn't attend SS they are assigned a class. That class is responsible. We also have a prayer loop and a mom's yahoo group. These allow people to minister as they feel lead to. They work pretty well (Facebook helps too).