When exactly are my meals reserved — and when do they ship?

Two things to keep separate: reserving meals (happening now, every month) and shipping meals as real partner donations (post-threshold, once we cross the $50,000/year partnership with the hunger-relief charity we select commitment).

Reserving meals runs on the last calendar day of each month at approximately 23:00 UTC. That's when we close the books on the month, total the earmarked amount across every active subscription, and publish the monthly fund report. If you subscribed on the 5th, your first earmark is in that same month's report — about 25 days later. If you subscribed on the 28th, your first earmark is still in that month's report — about 3 days later. Any subscription active as of the last day of the month is in that month's batch.

The fund report is LADLE-issued and appears on the Impact page and in your personal My Table screen the same day the month closes. If you want to be notified the moment it publishes, email support and we'll add you to the same-day announcement list — no marketing, just the report.

Shipping meals — the actual partner donation and partner receipt — happens once we cross the $50,000/year threshold that unlocks a formal partnership. Until then, the fund is held and the report shows the balance, meals reserved, and progress toward the threshold. Once we cross it, meals ship at $0.80 each through the partner we select, real partner reference numbers populate the ledger, and the "reserved" column shifts to "delivered."

If a monthly fund report is delayed (rare), the status page shows "MEAL FUND — DELAYED" with an explanation. Cancellations mid-month don't affect this cycle's earmark. Your $8 was earmarked when you paid; it stays in the fund with everyone else's, on track for shipment the month the partnership activates.