Rallee logo
Rallee logo

Meal train set up, made simple

Start a meal train in under one minute.

Rallee is a care coordination platform and free meal train site built to support new parents, friends facing health challenges, or loved ones grieving a loss. Share one link, and let your community sign up for meals or send gift cards from DoorDash, GrubHub, Starbucks, and hundreds of other retailers.

No credit card. No ads. Meal train live in 1 minute.

Rallee meal train volunteer feed showing sign-up days and gift card options from DoorDash and Target

Trusted

5,000+ families use Rallee

to coordinate care for loved ones.

Live in 1 min

No spreadsheet. No ads. No platform fees.

Trusted

5,000+ families use Rallee

to coordinate care for loved ones.

Quick answer

How do you start a meal train?

Create a free meal train on Rallee, choose what it's for, add the recipient and the dates you need covered, turn on meals (and any other kind of help), then share one link with friends and family.

Set up takes under one minute. No ads, and no platform fees.

The short version, start to finish:

  1. Choose what the meal train is for (new baby, health challenge, loss, etc).

  2. Add the recipient's name and the dates you want meals covered.

  3. Turn on meals, plus any other help like donations, rides, or errands.

  4. Add meal details, then write a short description and add the recipient's contact info.

  5. Invite friends by text, email, or social and watch the calendar fill up!

How to start a meal train

Meal train set up in a few easy steps

Whether you're organizing a meal train for new parents, a friend in surgery recovery, or a family who lost someone, here's exactly how to set up a meal train on Rallee, start to finish.

1

Step 1

Share who the meal train is for.

Pick what the meal train is for (a new baby, surgery, illness, or loss), then add the recipient's name and the date range you want meals covered.

Works for any occasion: babies, surgery, grief, illness

Set a start and end date in seconds

Organize it for yourself, a friend, or a family

Rallee meal train setup step 1 of 4: choosing what the meal train is for and adding the recipient's name and dates
2

Step 2

Choose how people can help, not just meals.

A meal train doesn't have to stop at food. You have the option to turn on meals, add donations, coffee runs, help with kids or pets, house cleaning, visits, or errands. Message updates are always on, so everyone stays in the loop.

Meals is the core of every meal train

Add donations, transportation, or errands with one tap

A shared message board keeps friends and family updated

Rallee meal train setup step 2 of 4: choosing how people can help with meals, donations, coffee, transportation, and more
3

Step 3

Add meal details, dietary needs, and delivery days.

Add optional details including how many adults and kids need meals, favorite dishes, delivery windows, dietary restrictions, and dates.

Favorite meals, preferred timing, drop-off notes

Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and other dietary flags

Tap 'Every day', 'Weekdays', 'Weekends', or pick dates by hand. Add optional comments to specific dates.

Rallee meal details form: number of adults and children, favorite meals, and best delivery time
Rallee dietary restrictions picker with vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free options
Rallee meal train calendar for selecting the days people can deliver meals
4

Step 4

Write a description and add a cover photo.

Add a short description or use the one we add for you. Add a cover photo, decide who can join with a link, and you're nearly done setting up your meal train.

A description template you can edit in seconds

Upload a photo or pick from one of our ready-to-use images.

Control who can join.

Rallee meal train setup step 3 of 4: writing a description and choosing a cover photo
5

Step 5

Add the recipient's info.

Enter the recipient's email now or after you have created the Rallee. Add their phone number and address (optional) so volunteers know where to deliver meals. Add more than one recipient if needed, then create your meal train.

Recipient gets an email invite automatically

Optional address so meal deliveries land at the right door

Contact info is only shown to people in the Rallee. You can hide the email and opt out of adding a phone number and address.

Rallee meal train setup step 4 of 4: adding the recipient's email, phone, and address
6

Step 6

Watch the meal train fill up.

Your meal train is live. Friends and family claim delivery days right on the calendar, no sign-up sheet, no reply-all email chain, just a schedule that fills itself in.

Guests claim a day and time with a single tap

Participants can give gift cards for DoorDash, GrubHub, Starbucks or hundreds of other retailers.

Everyone gets a gentle reminder before their day

Rallee meal train volunteer feed where friends sign up for delivery days and send gift cards
7

Step 7

Invite friends and family to help.

Share your meal train with one tap over text, email, or social, or add people directly by email. Import contacts from Google, upload a CSV, or pull in people you've Ralleed with before.

Share the meal train via text, email, or on social media in one tap

Add friends by email, one at a time or all at once

Import from Google, a CSV, or add people you've Ralleed with before

Rallee invite friends screen with share buttons, add-by-email, Google import, and CSV upload

Rallee makes meal train set up easy

The easiest way to organize a meal train.

Meal trains work best when signing up is easy. Rallee keeps every meal train site feature, the calendar, the dietary notes, the reminders, in one simple place. See all of Rallee's features or compare Rallee to MealTrain.

Set up a meal train in 1 minute

Easy setup, easy sharing, and simple to use.

Built for new parents and hard seasons

Whether it's a newborn, a surgery, an illness, or a loss, Rallee is designed around what people actually need to organize care.

Add donations with low fees.

Add donations as an option. We have a low fee of 2.9% + 0.30 per donation from our credit card processor. Rallee has no additional platform fees.

Add updates and messages

Add speech-to-text updates on the situation. Receive loving messages from participants.

"My friends gave meals, brought coffee, and even signed up for baby snuggles so I could nap. Every act of kindness reminded me how loved and supported we are."

Morgan M.

New baby, 40 supporters

Meal train FAQ

Meal train questions, answered.

Start a meal train with Rallee in a few easy steps:
  1. Choose what the meal train is for (new baby, health challenge, loss, etc)
  2. Add the recipient's name and the dates you want meals covered
  3. Turn on meals, plus any other help like donations, rides, or errands
  4. Add meal details, then write a short description and add the recipient's contact info
  5. Invite friends by text, email, or social and watch the calendar fill up
Start a free meal train.

The fastest meal train set up is through a platform like Rallee that guides you through a few questions and turns the answers into a shareable calendar, no spreadsheet, no separate sign-up sheet. That's exactly how Rallee's meal train flow works, start to finish in under one minute.

Yes. Rallee is a free meal train site. Creating a meal train costs nothing on Rallee. Rallee has no ads or platform fees.

Absolutely. A meal train for new parents is a common reason people use Rallee. You can add updates, share photos, request meals with dietary preferences, and let family and friends claim delivery days for weeks after the birth.

When you set up your meal train, you can flag dietary needs like vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, or low-carb, plus add a free-text note. Anyone signing up sees those details before they pick a dish.

Rallee and MealTrain both let you coordinate a meal train for a friend, but Rallee goes further in four key ways:
  • 16 support types vs. meals only — Rallee adds rides, errands, donations, coffee, gifts, flowers, pet care, and more.
  • Low donation fees vs. MealTrain's 7.9% — Rallee does not charge a platform fee for donations. Our only fee is the credit card processing fee from Pledge's processor, Stripe, which is 2.9% + $0.30.
  • No ads — MealTrain shows ads to your community. Rallee never does.
  • Free forever — No premium tiers or paywalled features.
See a comparison of Rallee and MealTrain

MealTrain has high donation fees. They have a total of 7.9% fees on each donation. Rallee does not charge a platform fee for donations. Our only fee is the credit card processing fee from Pledge's processor, Stripe, which is 2.9% + $0.30.

A meal train is a shared schedule where friends, family, and neighbors sign up to deliver meals to someone during a busy or hard season, like a new baby, a surgery, an illness, or a loss. Instead of everyone bringing food on the same day, a meal train spreads deliveries across a calendar so support arrives steadily over days or weeks. On Rallee you can also add donations, gift cards, rides, and errands alongside meals.

Setting up a meal train on Rallee is free. There are no ads, no premium tiers, and no platform fees. If you choose to add donations to your meal train, Rallee has low donation fees from our credit card processor (2.9% + $0.30 from Pledge's processor, Stripe). Donations are optional.

It depends on the situation. For a new baby, two to four weeks is common. For a surgery or illness, match the recovery window. For a loss, many people run a meal train for a few weeks and then check in again. On Rallee you set a start and end date and can extend it anytime, so you're never locked in.

Bring a meal that travels well and reheats easily, and always check the recipient's dietary notes and delivery preferences first. Label any allergens, use disposable containers so nothing needs to be returned, and stick to the delivery window they set. If you can't cook, a gift card for DoorDash, GrubHub, or Starbucks is just as welcome, and Rallee lets you send one right from the meal train.

Freezer-friendly dinners (lasagna, soups, casseroles), easy breakfasts, and snacks new parents can eat with one hand are all winners. Gift cards for meal delivery help on the hardest nights, and non-meal help such as groceries, coffee runs, or a load of laundry goes a long way. With Rallee you can turn on all of these support types on one meal train so people can pick whatever they're able to give.

Free, forever

Start your meal train today.

Set it up in under one minute. Share one link. Watch the calendar fill up.

No credit card

No premium tier

Easy to use

We use cookies and local storage to enhance your experience, analyze site usage, and remember your preferences.
By clicking "Accept", you consent to our use of cookies and storage. Learn more