Make a person a meal when they are going through hard times is something we do here. But I understand that it is more a community thing.

This will vary depending on the type of area you live in. In a bedroom community of a city people often move in and out. They may not even know of a death since there isn't a network.

In the community I live in lots of people grew up here and still live here as retired people so they have real roots in the town. The mother goes to the town beauty shop or they go to church together, see each other at the only restaurant in town, etc. The mailman even knows everything that is going on.

So here - it happens.

Not because people are different but just because of the circumstances.

Giving people food is just a nice gesture and saying you care with out actually using words. In my family when we did this, we also went out and bought disposable casserole dishes like these, the thinking always being that wanting them to not have to worry about cooking also extended to prep and clean-up.

Whenever someone hit hard times or just needed some help, people at my church will organize meal plans for said person/family. Community and friendship groups are very powerful. Say someone has a newborn and was just released from the hospital, 1-5 different families would bring dinner every day for a month or so.

Today, I think a lot of this has moved into online spaces.

These little things are what make up the fabric of society at the most basic level. You bring your friends food when they are suffering. It is one less thing for them to have to do.