Which plans include the meal train template?

All of them, including Free. It counts toward your plan's active-sheet limit once you publish it, like any other sheet. Reminder emails before each night are a Basic and Pro feature; the confirmation with a calendar invite is on every plan.

Is the family's address on the public page?

No. The address, drop-off instructions, and dietary needs go in the Only for confirmed sign-ups card, so they reach the people who signed up, on the thanks page and in their confirmation and reminder emails, and never sit on the shareable link.

What if I forget to set the date?

The nights are created undated and still read in order, Night 1 through Night 14. Give each one its date in the slot editor, or start again from the template with the first night as the event date.

The baby came early. Do I have to redo the sheet?

No. Move all dates shifts every night at once and keeps everyone's sign-ups, and it can email the people affected with their old and new dates.

Announcement · October 29, 2026

three lasagnas is plenty

A meal train template: two weeks of dinners, ready to share

A new baby, a surgery, a funeral. The meal train is the sign-up a church runs on the shortest notice and cares about the most, and until now it meant building fourteen dated slots by hand before anyone could cook. Today it's a template.

The short version: On the New sheet screen, 📑 Start from a template now includes a 🍲 Meal train: two weeks of dinners, one cook a night, each night dated from the first night you pick, with the family's address sent only to people who sign up. Pick it, set the first night as the event date, fill in the details, and publish. On every plan.

What the template sets up

Fourteen nights, one cook each. “Night 1” through “Night 14,” with a 5:30 to 6:30 PM drop-off window.
Every night has its own date. Set the event date to the first night and the rest count on from it, so each cook's calendar invite and reminder (Basic and Pro) name their night, and a night closes to sign-ups once it has passed.
“What are you bringing?” on the page. The note is public, so the fourth cook can see the family already has three lasagnas coming.
The address stays private. The family's address, drop-off instructions, and dietary needs go only to the people who signed up. The template fills them in as placeholders in square brackets for you to replace.

Two weeks is a starting point. Delete nights you don't need, delete every other one for an every-other-night train, or add more with the dated-slot generator. The full walkthrough is in Start from a template.

When plans change

Meal trains move. If the baby comes three weeks early, Move all dates shifts every night at once and keeps the sign-ups, and offers to email each cook their new night. A cook who can't make it uses the change-or-cancel link in their email, and the night opens back up for someone else.

The template joins the potluck, prayer vigil, angel tree, interest form, RSVP, and memorial list. If there's a sheet your church rebuilds every year that isn't here, tell us.

Common questions

Which plans include the meal train template?: All of them, including Free. It counts toward your plan's active-sheet limit once you publish it, like any other sheet. Reminder emails before each night are a Basic and Pro feature; the confirmation with a calendar invite is on every plan.
Is the family's address on the public page?: No. The address, drop-off instructions, and dietary needs go in the Only for confirmed sign-ups card, so they reach the people who signed up, on the thanks page and in their confirmation and reminder emails, and never sit on the shareable link.
What if I forget to set the date?: The nights are created undated and still read in order, Night 1 through Night 14. Give each one its date in the slot editor, or start again from the template with the first night as the event date.
The baby came early. Do I have to redo the sheet?: No. Move all dates shifts every night at once and keeps everyone's sign-ups, and it can email the people affected with their old and new dates.

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