When a friend or family member of mine has a baby, one of the first things I do (after offering my congratulations, of course) is prepare a meal to deliver to the happy new family. Those first weeks (honestly: months) of caring for a newborn and adjusting to a new family dynamic can be so draining, and preparing a healthy (warm!) meal is often the last thing new parents want to worry about. An offer of food is such a simple thing—but a nourishing meal carries with it so much kindness, I really can’t think of a more perfect gift for a new family.
I was recently introduced to a website that takes delivering meals to a whole new level. Food Tidings is a wonderful resource that allows you to coordinate an entire food-bearing army to deliver meals to anyone in need. You can create an online schedule for meal delivery, and friends and family of the parents-to-be can view the entire schedule online and sign up to deliver a meal on a specific date.
What a perfect idea for a baby shower! You could collect email addresses from shower guests, and, when the baby is born, simply invite those interested in providing a meal to sign up on a schedule you’ve created at Food Tidings. The new parents will feel so loved, and most likely relieved to know that the cooking is done…leaving more time for new-baby snuggling.

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger