HEREABOUTS beth anspach
At 36 years old, the last thing Shannon Dyer of Vandalia was thinking about was cancer.
“I was just living my life, and working full time as a teacher in Darke County, when I was diagnosed with rectal cancer on May 17 of last year,” Dyer said.
As devastated as she was, she had just moved back home with her parents and had the support of them and a wide circle of friends, including best friend McKenzie Costello, who discovered something online to really help her friend during this difficult time.
“When someone is sick, everyone wants to do something to help,” Dyer said. “And Kenzie posted on Facebook that I needed meals through a program called mealTrain.com.”
MealTrain LLC, a Burlington, Vt.,-based company, has helped more than 10,000 families receive 80,000 meals from friends and neighbors since going live about a year ago, according to Michael Laramie, co-founder of the company.
“MealTrain.com is a free website that helps organize meal giving around significant life events like births, illnesses and surgeries,” Laramie said. “Meal Train does this by enabling an organizer like Shannon’s friend Kenzie to specify the days, times and meal preferences of the recipient.”
For Dyer, mealTrain made all the difference. “I had to begin chemo and radiation immediately after my diagnosis,” she said. “I was sick all summer and had surgery in September. Costello posted online that I needed meals, and people would call and let me know that they were bringing them and we would have enough for a couple of days. The meals really made a difference for my parents and for me.”
And though the concept of bringing food to friends and family members isn’t new, having an organized way to handle it is.
According to mealTrain co-founder Kathleen Laramie, well-meaning family members and friends often bombard recipients with meals that they don’t want or like or can’t use. “The goal was to create a site that was easy to use, that would simplify the process and enhance communication,” Laramie said.
Dyer said when cancer struck, not only was she in total shock, but her friends and family were as well
“No one really knew what to say to me or how to deal with it,” she said. “But everyone wanted to be able to do something. Being able to bring meals over when we needed them took the burden off and it was very, very much appreciated. We saw people we hadn’t seen in a long time and it was very comforting to have them come by our house and bring meals.”
For more information, visit www.mealTrain.com.
Contact this columnist at (937) 475-8212 or banspach@woh.rr.com.
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