The Search Feature

For a few weeks now we have been trying to figure out why some of your schedules didn't show up in the search results. That time is now over :-) I am sure you are just as glad as us, and we can officially declare the search feature "working".

Remember, searching for a schedule is not a way to have people sign up, but a way to get in touch with the coordinators and request a link be sent. We still feel the personal information contained within each schedule should not be made publicly accessible, in order to help maintain the privacy of the families involved and keep them safe.

Another Note About Groups...

A few times we have been getting messages bounced back to our system from a Google group saying that "we" don't have permission to post. If you are sending an invite to a Google or Yahoo group, be sure to send it from your email account, and that you have permission to post. When you send invites from our system, they are sent as "info@foodtidings.com", and may not be accepted.

Are You Using A Yahoo Or Google Group To Distribute Your Schedule Links?

A lot have people do. It's a great way to get the word out, especially if there is already a large community of people using the group. When using these services, you should be aware of the way they handle links in order to make sure everyone in the group can get to the schedule easily. Make sure you use the built in text editors when emailing/posting to the group.

Sometimes these services are not set up to allow linking text in the post/email. You will need to follow the instructions at whatever site you are on that will tell you how to insert a link in your post or email. Usually, this involves highlighting the pasted link from your foodtidings.com schedule, and clicking the "Link" icon (also called a URL)

If you have questions on how to insert links when posting to these types of services (or even in your email) consult their web sites help pages.

Don't forget to look at what other people are bringing to eat

When signing up for your meal date, try to take a couple of minutes and look over the other meals being provided by people. Anything & everything you make will be appreciated, but sometimes getting a similar chicken dish 4 days out of the week can be a bit overwhelming :-)

Some people receiving meals do not wish to be disturbed

Laura from Pennsylvania shared a great way to deliver meals when people aren't home or do not wish to be disturbed. Placing a small cooler in front of the house for people to place their meals in. As they leave they can flip up the mailbox flag. The people receiving the meal can then get it when they return or when they feel ready. This is a great way to keep the recipients comfortable if they do not know who will be providing the meals. Thanks Laura! Remember, if you have ideas or things to share, be sure to send them to us!

A Little Thing...

A small but useful feature has finally been added. You can now delete contacts from your invite list! Simply select the email addresses as if you were inviting them, then click on the "Delete Selected" link above your contact list. If you should happen to accidentally delete a correct address, just re-type it as you did when you first entered the address. Oh, address are now alphabetized AND you can also select/deselect all addresses when sending your invites :-)

Meal Schedule Searching is now available

As I mentioned in the previous post, we've released the search feature for the site. It's only been mildly tested, so please if you find any bugs just send us an email. This tool is meant to provide those of you who lost an invite link or heard about a schedule the ability to contact the coordinator and get what you need.

As of now, we aren't providing direct access to meal schedules because they contain personal information about the people and families they are for, and we want to make it a little bit harder for Spammers, lurkers and potential ID thieves to get your information.

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