Clubs have something cooking for new mothers

MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA -- Kathleen Chrzanowski reels off meals as though reading from a menu: rotisserie chicken with vegetables and brownies; Mexican cornbread with spicy beef topping, salad, and cookies; chicken and broccoli casserole, and homemade oatmeal and cranberry cookies; and finally, baked penne with sausage and ricotta, salad, bread, and brownie bites. Chrzanowski has not been restaurant hopping. The dinners arrived on her doorstep more than seven months ago, delivered by women she had never met, in a town she'd just moved to, after she'd just given birth.

Was she dreaming? She might as well have been. "Hot, ready-to-eat meals delivered to your front step is a dream," says Stacey Lai. Lai is past president of a North Shore club that sponsors the Meals for New Moms program. Organized by the Manchester Mothers' Club, the program was established to help new moms and their families get on their feet after a baby arrives. Meals are tailored to suit individual preferences, and they are free of charge.

The meals program and others like it around the Boston area breathe new life into an old tradition, in which members of the community helped a family when there was something happy or sad going on. Modern families can make computer postings, but the only way to get a home-cooked meal is to hire a caterer or have a great friend. Until now. "It's the best gift from a small community of women who get it," says Lai. "You want to have meals for your family but you can't because you are exhausted."

Other clubs of moms organize meals in similar ways. When a club member has a new baby, an e - mail announcement is sent to the club's listserve or posted as an e-bulletin. Any member can volunteer to prepare the meals. The volunteer or program coordinator gathers information about the new mom's optimal delivery times, food preferences, and allergies, if any. The meals are delivered in disposable containers, if possible, so there are no baking dishes to wash afterward.

The Manchester program offers four meals, delivered on different days. The Wellesley Mothers Forum delivers one meal each week for four weeks. The Wellesley program, called Helping Hands, asks moms in need to complete a detailed questionnaire , and it offers volunteer cooks a set of guidelines (see right).

The Farms-Prides Mothers' Club offers two meals whenever the new mom wants them. "Many new moms have relatives who may stay with them at first and so it's more useful to have meals delivered even a month or two later," says Kristin Jepsen, program coordinator. The Farms-Prides club also donates a book in the child's name to the Beverly Farms library.

The Newburyport Mothers Club's program, called In a Pinch, provides three full meals to a member. "Sometimes it's three meals in a row," says Nicole Nadeau, president of the club. "Sometimes it's one meal each week for three weeks, and sometimes it's three meals that can be frozen and used when needed. We try to make this a personal service since each member's needs are different."

Some women go all out preparing the meals, says Lai, of the North Shore club. "I have had handmade menus made with bottles of wine, flowers, and gifts included for the children." Nicole Nadeau, president of the Newburyport Mothers Club, says that her twins were only a few months old when she broke her foot four years ago. She had three meals delivered to her door around dinner time. One member brought over enchiladas, salad, chips, and salsa and a six -pack of beer. "It was probably my first full meal since the twins had been born! Not only was it a wonderful comfort, I met a new friend who lived only a block away."

Some moms feel shy about requesting meals, say club organizers. Jepsen, the Farms-Prides coordinator, says that she finds herself telling the moms that they are getting a meal anyway. "That's the job of the mothers' club," Jepsen says , "to support each other." Lai says that some women probably can't imagine someone else making them a meal, especially someone they do not know . "But for those of us who give into the program and willingly take out, it is wonderful," she says.

The programs seem to inspire women outside the clubs to deliver meals to their friends with new babies. When Jepsen had her second baby, she got two meals from the Farms-Prides Mothers' Club and then other moms -- members and non-members of the club -- called and delivered meals to her and her family. "In total I think I got six meals. It was really one of the nicest things, and an amazing gesture of support for a new mom who is exhausted and just trying to get through the first few months of the newborn stage."