Why Breakfast Is the Best Gift You Can Give to Your Next Meal Train

When something very good or very bad happens, Southerners tend to react in one of the only ways we know how—with food, and lots of it. If you've ever attended a funeral in the South, you've seen how platters of sandwiches and chocolate cakes somehow materialize in less time than they take to prepare. In the same way, if you've ever had a baby in the South, you've witnessed that no freezer can possibly contain the amount of chicken casseroles Mama'n'em thrust upon you. We can't help it. Sometimes words fail us, but a homemade coconut cake is like a monologue of love. The Southern meal train is truly something to behold. And while we can bet that your grieving, sick, or recovering friend has more dinners than they could possibly eat, we're making the case for dropping by something for breakfast.

Why is it that "the most important meal of the day" gets forgotten during times of need? We're not sure, but it's always the first thing on our "What can I bring?" list. On the day of the funeral or the arrival home from a birth or a major surgery, dinner is covered. I promise. But the following morning, what's there to eat? There's something to be said for leftovers, of course, and I'm sure there's a granola bar in the pantry. But meal trains are all about comforting those we love, and what's more consoling than a warm breakfast after the house is empty and quiet again?

Providing breakfast lets your friends and family know that you were thinking about future them. Everyone is present on the day of the big sad or the big happy, but then they go home and, as they say, life goes on. Waking up to something on the breakfast table is a small but certain comfort. Below, we're sharing some of our favorite breakfast recipes for meal trains that travel and freeze well. Be sure to include a bag of good coffee or a package of tea and written-out freezing, thawing, and reheating instructions when you drop them off.