Whenabouts

Free template

Meal train sign-up sheet

A sign-up sheet for bringing dinner to a family who needs a hand.

When a family has a new baby, an illness or a loss, a meal train makes sure dinner arrives without them having to ask. Lay out the days, share one link, and friends pick the evenings they can cook. Anyone who leaves an email gets a copy of the day they chose.

Start oneIt opens with the days already laid out. Pick the first one, and change anything before you share it.

What's filled in for you

Title
Meals for the family
Layout
One a day, over a range
Days
14 of them, each called “Dinner”, with room for one person a day.
Email
Everyone is asked for one. Only you and anybody helping you run the page see it, and it's never shown on the page.
Description
Pick an evening to bring dinner. Once a day is taken, it's covered, so there's no need to double up. Use the note to tell us what you're planning to make, which helps us avoid the same meal two nights in a row. Food in containers that don't need to come back makes it easier on the family.
For
Community group

You add your name and the first day. Anything here can be changed before you share it.

An example

  • Dinner: Tue 13 Oct · taken by Sam
  • Dinner: Wed 14 Oct · open
  • Dinner: Thu 15 Oct · taken by Jo
What people see

How to set it up

  1. Ask the family firstFind out which days they'd like meals, what time suits them, and anything they don't eat. Put the drop-off time and the foods to avoid in the description, where every cook will see them.
  2. Set the daysIt starts with two weeks of dinners, beginning tomorrow. Change the first day, or how many days there are, up to 90.
  3. Keep the address off the pageAnyone with the link can see the sheet. Once people have signed up, send the address with “Tell people something” on your private link. It goes by email to everyone who signed up.
  4. Send the linkShare it with friends, neighbours, a team or a congregation. Nobody needs an account, and each cook gets a copy of their day by email.

What helps

  • Many families find every other day is enough, because most meals stretch to a second night. Ask before you fill every evening.
  • Unless the family says they'd like company, ask people to leave the meal at the door, or keep the visit short.
  • Someone who can't cook can still take an evening by ordering takeout to the door. Say in the description that it's welcome.
  • If things change, you can add days or take some off from your private link. Anyone on a day you take off gets an email, so they know.
  • This template asks everyone for an email address, so the address and any change of plan reach every cook. Only you and anybody helping you run the page see the addresses.

Something to send with the link

Copy it into a text, an email or the group chat, change what you like, and paste your link at the end.

We're organizing meals for the family over the next couple of weeks, so dinner is one less thing for them to think about.

If you'd like to help, pick an evening on the sheet below and say what you're planning to make. You don't need an account. The drop-off time and anything they don't eat are at the top of the page, and I'll email the address to everyone who signs up.

Here's the sheet:

Questions people ask

Can two people bring dinner on the same day?
Yes. Change “People per day” to 2 before you make it, and each day stays open until two people have signed up. It's useful for a big family, or for one cook bringing the main and another the dessert.
Can people see who's cooking which day?
Yes, the names are on the sheet, unless you turn on “Hide other people's names”. Then people see which days are taken but not by whom, and you still see everyone.
How do I share the address without putting it on the page?
Use “Tell people something” on your private link once people have signed up. It goes by email to everyone on the sheet, and because this template asks each person for an email address, nobody is left out.
Will cooks get a reminder?
Each cook gets a copy of their day by email as soon as they sign up. Sheets don't send reminders by themselves, but you can message everyone who signed up from your private link, and a paid plan lets you schedule reminders for a day and time you pick.
What if a cook can't make their day after all?
They open the link in their email and cancel, or pick a different day. Their evening opens up for somebody else right away, and if you left your email, it's in the summary we send you at 6 pm.

Other templates people use

Community and volunteer sign-up sheets, or browse all templates

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