Things I Love Thursday: Mealbaby.com
Just before I was about to have Tessa one of my great sisters in Christ asked about our needs after the baby was born. She asked if we really needed someone to bring meals since I tend to have a freezer full of food! I said yes considering that it still takes time and energy to use that food and having someone come to the house with a hot meal is something equivalent to finding water in the dessert to a recovering mama.
She then sent me a link to Mealbaby.com where she had set up meal registry list for me. This site is AMAZING! Have you ever tried to coordinate meals to a loved one or friend in their time of need? For me the frustrating part is in getting responses back. When people start responding to the email letting you know what date they are bringing food and what they are bringing, inevitably someone sends an email at the same time and signs up for the same day. Then you have to go back and figure out who is going to sign up for a different date. It can get a little awkward. Well, not with Mealbaby.com!
Here is how it works. You have someone that you are arranging to take food. You set up an account for yourself and a meal registry for them. It then sends them an email for them to set up an account and fill in the meal registry information. As the recipient of the food, in this case me, you fill in your address, contact information, food likes, food dislikes, allergies, number of people the meals will need to feed and the dates that you would like to receive food. It even gives you restaurant gift certificates to choose from if the food bearer wants to provide those instead of a meal. It is SO easy!
I loved the fact that I could communicate which days/dates that I wanted food brought to me. I arranged for it to be every other day so that we didn’t have a ton of leftovers. We already had plans for some family to visit with food so I didn’t request food on those days/dates either.
Then, the person who set up the registry simply enters the email address of those they want the meal registry to go to and the process has begun. As people sign up to bring you meals the dates on the calendar are blocked so that two people don’t sign up for the same day/date. AND it sends the meal recipient an email letting them know that “Person X” is bringing a meal on “X date”. If a date isn’t signed up for the recipient knows that right away.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the food bearers tell me that mealbaby.com also sends them a reminder email before their assigned and chosen date so that they don’t forget! That is my kind of registry! I also received several gift certificates from folks which was such an amazing gift. They come in the mail in an envelope from Mealbaby.com letting me know who sent them to me. It is so nice.
So if you are the uberorganizer of meals to friends and loved ones, I would STRONGLY recommend this website. It is AMAZING! I love sites that make giving to others easier.
Disclosure: I was not given any compensation for this post. I was not solicited by Mealbaby.com nor have I ever had contact with anyone on the site. I simply think it is a service that I loved and you need to know about!
This post is linked to Things I Love Thursday at Diaper Diaries. For more great things that people love, visit her site every Thursday.
Our church usually uses http://www.carecalendar.org/
I didn’t know there were any other sites like that out there. I’ll have to check this one out!
that is an awesome service!! thanks for the info :)
I actually put a 2 week subscription to a meal delivery service on my baby registry on myregistry.com, but this is a great idea too. One thing I keep hearing is that getting meals right after the baby is born is the best gift you could get!
What a fantastic idea! We just did this for a neighbor who fell and broke a leg a few months ago. Wish I’d known about this then!
I have used the carecalendar.org for a few years. I like that it is not just meals that you can set up on there. I have been listing local take out places that our new mommas like to eat from since we don’t always have time to cook, but can stop by with something. Thanks for sharing. I’ll check it out.
I have used Care Calendar as well. It sounds similar. Whoever thought up the whole “bring a new mom meals” thing should be sainted. Best idea EVAH!!