Need Detailed Sample Menu for 2-week bishop food order

Need Detailed Sample Menu for 2-week bishop food and commodity order.

I have been asked to assist in locating a sample detailed menu form for a few single senior adults to aid them in pre-planning 3 meals a day for the two-week commodity order from the bishop's storehouse.

The actual bishop's food order form which the Relief Society President has may have general guidelines on the amount of each commodity that can be ordered at one time, but I am confident there is a written sample printed form to plan the 42 meals over the two-week period.

There may be thousands of generic forms on the internet, but I am reaching out to LDS members who may lead me to use an LDS form or a generic that is approved.

Still need help on this.

The long silence may suggest that no such thing exists. Or, at least the community hasn't seen one.

If your bishop needs help, he can contact the stake president. The stake president can contact the area authority.

Your stake may have a Provident Living Specialist called, who may be able to assist with this need.
https://providentliving.lds.org

According to Google: https://providentliving.lds.org/bc/prov ... f?lang=eng

That's listed as being a training form. Yes, page 2 does have a layout for planning a menu. My guess is that the OP was looking for actual suggestions (e.g. Pancakes for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, etc.) I know I'd find it much easier to start with an idea and adjust to taste than to start with a blank canvas.

My guess is that the OP was looking for actual suggestions (e.g. Pancakes for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, etc.) I know I'd find it much easier to start with an idea and adjust to taste than to start with a blank canvas.

Yes, that is correct. My list of families to help has grown since I asked these questions. They are asking, "Is there a sample 2-week 3/meals per day menu that my children and I can look at?"

Such as . . . for single mom and two teenagers:

Monday morning:
6 eggs
8 oz of bacon
12 oz orange juice
12 oz milk
3 slices of toast
1 tablespoon butter or margerine

Tuesday Morning:
15 oz of cold cereal
32 oz milk
12 oz orange juice
24 oz hot chocolate

Wednesday Morning
20 oz cooked oatmeal
12 oz orange juice
12 oz milk
24 oz hot chocolate

Thursday Morning
Pancakes
12 oz orange juice
12 oz milk

Surely there are sample menus. Asking the stake rep or stake president should be the last thing to consider, since there are thousands of smart minds here.

Michael_Newman wrote:Surely there are sample menus. Asking the stake rep or stake president should be the last thing to consider, since there are thousands of smart minds here.

You may be interested in enlisting the talents of your Relief Society president. Ours is always involved with families needing assistance, and when she notices a trend, guess what comes up as a topic in the extra RS meetings?

Her insight would work just as well for a family not receiving assistance and who is trying to live providently.

You may be interested in enlisting the talents of your Relief Society president.

Yes, she has been asking me for samples. Every family we know generally works off of a planned menu. But none of them have a sample pdf or web link that can be edited to help others adjust a 2 week planned menu.

I would recommend your RS President provide this. If she needs assistance, she can reach out to the Stake RS President. With the varied dietary needs of individuals (especially many seniors) I doubt any "generic" plan would work anyway. A generic plan would have to be tailored to each individual so I doubt that it will save any time over building one from scratch for each specific member.

My wife used to do a monthly meal plan for our large family using plain paper (folded and then flattened back out to make a small square for each day). It was very easy to do as she would list the meals for each day and then build a monthly shopping list from the meal list. One could do the same with a copy of a monthly calendar.

Each head of house would be best suited to ascertain the amount of food their family needs.

In what I thought was a flash of inspiration, I searched for "random menu generator". The results were more entertaining than useful. :/

Refining my search, I did find 15 Tips for Better Weekly Meal Planning

And of course, Pinterest to the rescue.

It appears that everyone has no idea how to answer your question. I am also very surprised that nobody has done this on the past or they are unwilling to share or have tead your question. I had exactly what you wanted and can not find it anywhere. I will keep looking. It broke down items in the store house for breakfast, lunch, and dinner using only the items available. I wish the church would have an online app that would assist in this effort. It would be more productive for all. If i find it i will postbit. If you find something that is useful please share.

What a good idea! Did you ever find one?

LisaKeck wrote:What a good idea! Did you ever find one?

Not yet.

Still hoping someone can help.

LisaKeck wrote:What a good idea! Did you ever find one?

Both my wife and I are still waiting for someone to help. So far, no 2-week detailed sample menus that show the food items and the serving sizes in order to figure out what size of commodity is needed to fit the menu on a bishop's food order.

Once the details are provided, then the next step toward self-reliance would be to help with local food coupons, sales, buying in season without having to pay higher prices out-of season, and a host of smart shopping.

In the 1970's this was all standard teaching. But somehow in 1995 (when the internet started) everything must have gone "poof".

As a new Relief Society President I need the same thing. I am very conscious of my responsibility in administering the Lords assets sparingly and responsibly. Unfortunately I do not have a degree in dietary services. I have looked everywhere I can think of for a basic menu plan for 1 person for 2 weeks. Since I find none I have to resort to gut instinct. I hope someone who is good with dietary needs and spreadsheets will come up with a cheat sheet. I know there are some available at cost, but the cost is not minimal.

Lmow wrote:As a new Relief Society President I need the same thing.

I'd suggest consulting with the Stake Relief Society President

Handbook 2: 15.4.1: The principal responsibilities of stake auxiliary presidencies are to assist the stake presidency and to instruct and support ward auxiliary presidencies.

Handbook 2: 9.8.2: Members of the stake Relief Society presidency ensure that ward Relief Society presidents understand welfare principles and that they understand their role to help bishops in welfare matters.

russellhltn wrote:

Lmow wrote:As a new Relief Society President I need the same thing.

I'd suggest consulting with the Stake Relief Society President

Handbook 2: 15.4.1: The principal responsibilities of stake auxiliary presidencies are to assist the stake presidency and to instruct and support ward auxiliary presidencies.

Handbook 2: 9.8.2: Members of the stake Relief Society presidency ensure that ward Relief Society presidents understand welfare principles and that they understand their role to help bishops in welfare matters.

Unfortunately, no one on the stake level has any 2-week menu samples for a bishop's order. The principles are well understood, as when a child is instructed to "eat a balanced meal". But when some "children" ask about a two-week menu - all they get is a reminder to eat a balanced meal.

Michael_Newman wrote:Unfortunately, no one on the stake level has any 2-week menu samples for a bishop's order.

Understood, but the official line of support for a ward is to go to the stake. If they don't know, they have line of authority to ask.

As much as we try to help, LDSTech isn't an official line of support for that. If nothing has been published, we have nothing to refer to.

I have been asked by my Bishop to do my first training. I created these as template. Hopefully they can be of help to others.

@KimPacker, thanks so much for sharing this with Forum members (current and future!). As I'm sure you know, there will definitely be future leaders who search the Forum with this need, and will find your resources. A good reminder to all of us, to circle back with solutions and post them so others can benefit.

I finally created one for myself to use and I’m sharing it in Google sheets. Please reach out to me if you need it tweaked in any way for local differences. I started the calendar on Wednesday since that is the day Bishop Storehouse orders are picked up in our area. Reach me at [email removed]
Christina RS Pres in Cheyenne, WY

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 5Rpp0/edit

[Moderator note, I'd suggest contacting Christina though the forum via PM. Any emails posted here will be public and likely vacuumed up into the dealers of spam.]

@nalenc, that's a really great doc that I'm sure others will benefit from. Along with the meal planning lesson from a previous post, this definitely helps those who are looking for existing materials to help them get started.

As a side note, I think there's two potentially conflicting aspects to filling out these orders: (1) Will the members actually eat the food they are ordering? (2) Is it a healthy balanced diet?

My experience is that for most orders, (1) is the more important immediate factor, while (2) is a longer-term issue to work on with the members. That's why from my perspective, trying to force members into a specific food order that is balanced, may not meet their immediate needs. We definitely should always encourage members to balance their orders, but that may take time for them to adjust to. I know of members who have food order items that we suggested, and then those items go to waste, so it's something to keep in mind.

Yes. Great comments. Thank you.

Look at this resource I found based through a non-profit group in the UK (need to convert to ounces or pounds). I also love the food calculator.

https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/foods ... tion-sizes

There’s lot of useful helps at this website. It would be great if the church could make something similar that reflects recipes etc to correlate with the Bishop’s Storehouse foods offered. Maybe I can get my developer husband to make something similar

I agree. We need changes to the menu to stop wasting food, teach people high level cooking skills so they can prepare healthy and highly appetising meals, particularly seasoning and sauces. Allow the people to make requests for cooking alternatives to preparing a meal that has ingredients they don't want that can be taken into consideration for creating other recipes.
1. Get a non-member company (to remove bias) to evaluate the nutrition availability of the provided foods to see if anything needs to be removed or or added to be able to live in a healthy way and provide variety.
2. Temporarily contract a company of chefs to make all the meals possible from the food provided and allow them to add other local ingredients not provided at the storehouse for each area of the world/country. Have them address the needs and specialties of vegetarians, vegans, allergies, omnivores, Paleo, sugar free, keto, etc. Keep finding other chefs to diversify the meals on a cyclical period and add to an accessible church web site. Have the chefs teach meal preparation courses online which includes advanced cooking skills that are found in higher end restaurants as well as the common secrets of good cooking and the kitchen tools needed. Other videos online could be recommended and re-share those if possible.
3. Provide those meals created by chefs and nutritionist on the church web site to allow people to select meal plans instead of just food items. This will reduce food waste and teach people how to cook better and as a result eat healthier. When the patrons come to the storehouse, they can shop according to recipes which can be printed out at the storehouse.

Kretzl wrote: Sat Jul 08, 2023 6:45 pm I agree. We need changes to the menu to stop wasting food, teach people high level cooking skills so they can prepare healthy and highly appetising meals, particularly seasoning and sauces. Allow the people to make requests for cooking alternatives to preparing a meal that has ingredients they don't want that can be taken into consideration for creating other recipes.
1. Get a non-member company (to remove bias) to evaluate the nutrition availability of the provided foods to see if anything needs to be removed or or added to be able to live in a healthy way and provide variety.
2. Temporarily contract a company of chefs to make all the meals possible from the food provided and allow them to add other local ingredients not provided at the storehouse for each area of the world/country. Have them address the needs and specialties of vegetarians, vegans, allergies, omnivores, Paleo, sugar free, keto, etc. Keep finding other chefs to diversify the meals on a cyclical period and add to an accessible church web site. Have the chefs teach meal preparation courses online which includes advanced cooking skills that are found in higher end restaurants as well as the common secrets of good cooking and the kitchen tools needed. Other videos online could be recommended and re-share those if possible.
3. Provide those meals created by chefs and nutritionist on the church web site to allow people to select meal plans instead of just food items. This will reduce food waste and teach people how to cook better and as a result eat healthier. When the patrons come to the storehouse, they can shop according to recipes which can be printed out at the storehouse.

I think we're straying far from the mission of the church. The purpose of the Bishop's Storehouse is to provide for those in need, not to rectify the food problems of society at large. Either way, this is a community forum to learn from each other not to advocate for changes in the church. There are no decision-makers here.

Iʻm an RS President who usually takes a more hands-off approach to doing the food order -- I just ask the recipient how much she thinks she needs for two weeks. But I like the idea of using a meal plan as a Storehouse "shopping" guide!

Just found this with a Google search. Might be helpful??
https://learning2bloom.com/unofficial-g ... torehouse/

Hi Christina, can i get a copy of this document? The link is no longer working. I added you as a friend on the forum, but otherwise I’m not sure how to connect with you? We would be very grateful to have access to this meal plan if you are still open to sharing!

Thanks either way!
MLynn

nalenc wrote: Thu Apr 20, 2023 9:42 am I finally created one for myself to use and I’m sharing it in Google sheets. Please reach out to me if you need it tweaked in any way for local differences. I started the calendar on Wednesday since that is the day Bishop Storehouse orders are picked up in our area. Reach me at [email removed]
Christina RS Pres in Cheyenne, WY

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 5Rpp0/edit

[Moderator note, I'd suggest contacting Christina though the forum via PM. Any emails posted here will be public and likely vacuumed up into the dealers of spam.]

Hi Christina, can i get a copy of this document? The link is no longer working.

Also, a bit earlier in the thread, a different user posted three docs that might be helpful. Perhaps you already accessed them, but since for me that post appears on a separate page, it could be easy to miss.

Thank you so much for pointing this out!!

BrianEdwards wrote: Thu Nov 30, 2023 8:36 am

Hi Christina, can i get a copy of this document? The link is no longer working.

Also, a bit earlier in the thread, a different user posted three docs that might be helpful. Perhaps you already accessed them, but since for me that post appears on a separate page, it could be easy to miss.

Hi Christina ,
Could I get a copy of this document also ?

Christina RS Pres in Cheyenne, WY, I too, would like to get a copy of this document? The link is no longer working.

Thank you!

I just did a menu and this is what I came up with for me and two teenagers.


One-Week Menu (For 3 People)

⸻

Day 1
• Breakfast: Oatmeal with bananas & honey, milk
• Lunch: Tuna salad on white bread with lettuce & tomato
• Dinner: Spaghetti with meat sauce (ground beef, spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes) + green beans
• Dessert: Vanilla pudding

⸻

Day 2
• Breakfast: Pancakes (pancake mix) with peanut butter & jam, milk
• Lunch: Chicken salad wraps (canned chicken, mayo, lettuce, tortilla)
• Dinner: Beef stew over instant potatoes
• Snack: Grapes and cheddar cheese

⸻

Day 3
• Breakfast: Honey nut o’s cereal with milk
• Lunch: Mac & cheese with sliced ham cubes + broccoli
• Dinner: Chili with rice, topped with shredded cheese
• Dessert: Chocolate pudding

⸻

Day 4
• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with sautéed onions & bell peppers, toast with jam
• Lunch: Cottage cheese with peaches + crackers (or bread)
• Dinner: Pork sausage, potatoes, and carrots sautéed in oil and seasonings
• Snack: Orange slices

⸻

Day 5
• Breakfast: Vanilla yogurt with sliced bananas and a sprinkle of cinnamon
• Lunch: Black bean and rice burritos (tortilla, salsa, cheese)
• Dinner: Stewing beef and vegetables (onion, carrot, potato) with ribbon pasta
• Dessert: Bake chocolate cake

⸻

Day 6
• Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins, and a spoonful of honey
• Lunch: Hot dogs with buns, mustard & catsup + cucumber slices
• Dinner: Creamy chicken pasta (chicken chunks + cream of mushroom + ribbon pasta)
• Snack: Applesauce and cheddar cubes

⸻

Day 7
• Breakfast: Eggs and toast, vanilla yogurt
• Lunch: White beans and rice bowls with bell peppers and salsa
• Dinner: Pork and beans with ground beef over baked potatoes
• Dessert: Yellow cake with canned peaches

⸻

Notes:
• Use canned milk as needed in cooking (e.g. pancakes, cake, creamy sauces).
• Reserve a few boiled eggs and veggie sticks (carrots, cucumbers) for snacks throughout the week.
• Salsa, sour cream, and cheese can be used to boost flavor in many dishes.
• Rotate fruits and puddings for variety in snacks/desserts.

Would you like this in a printable Google Doc or PDF with a checkbox layout?