Who can help prepare orders for food and supplies?
By default, the Relief Society president, the bishop (branch president), and counselors in the bishopric (branch presidency) are authorized to help prepare orders. The bishop (branch president) can identify additional adult members of the ward to assist, as occasion requires. These members who are added to the system as “preparers” are only able to view the specific orders they have been assigned to prepare.
The bishop should refer to the help article entitled “Welfare Services Settings Overview” for detailed instructions on how to add members to the preparer list.
How do I add preparers?
To manage the list of authorized preparers for the ward (branch) the bishop (branch president) clicks on the Settings tab and scrolls down to the Available Preparers section. This section is not visible to any other users – only the bishop (branch president).
The bishop should refer to the help article entitled “Welfare Services Settings Overview” for detailed instructions on how to add members to the preparer list.
How can I copy food and supply quantities from a previous order for a recipient?
If a member of the ward (branch) has received a food order in the past through the Welfare Services Resources website, click Copy previous quantities at the top right of the food order. Then delete or add items as needed and submit the form.
How can I see how long the order process is in my ward?
At the bottom of each order form (below the approvals) and on the Orders tab, the date is listed for each action taken. The user who completed the action is also listed at the bottom of the order form.
How do I complete an order for a non-member recipient?
In the Recipient bar, click Recipient is not in this list and enter the recipient’s information into the form.
See the help article “Order for Food and Supplies—Leader’s Guide” for more details.
See the “Welfare Services Settings Overview” help article for instructions for managing the Available Preparers list.
How do I print a blank copy of the bishop’s order form?
See the Printing an Order Form section of the “Order for Food and Supplies – Preparer’s Guide” help article for instructions.
Is there an online menu planner?
The two-week menu planner that was printed on the back of the form, “Bishop’s Order for Commodities—Food and Supplies” (PD33585) is not currently available as a downloadable file.
How can I make changes once I submit an order?
Once an order has been submitted to the unit leader for approval or approved by the unit leader it is shown in the Orders in Process list on the Orders tab. Date stamps in the Prepared and Approved columns show when the preparer submitted the order for approval (Prepared) and when the unit leader approved the order (Approved).
If an order has not yet been approved by the unit leader, an authorized preparer can click on the order in the list to open and view it. They can then make modifications to the order and re-submit it by clicking the Submit button.
If an order has already been approved by the bishop (branch president) but not yet “claimed” by the storehouse (i.e. the status is “Ready to be filled”), the bishop (branch president) or one of his counselors can click on the order to open it, scroll to the bottom of the form and click on the Revert to Needs Approval button. This will cancel the prior approval action and place the order back in “Needs approval” status. At this point an authorized preparer can follow the instructions in the previous paragraph to make modifications to the order.
How do I choose a pickup location?
By default, orders can be picked up from any storehouse. Some storehouses deliver food orders in bulk to remote locations when units and members are distant from the storehouse. If your assigned storehouse delivers to remote locations they will be listed in the pickup location menu on the order form. Select the pickup location that is closest to the recipient’s home from the drop-down menu. See the “Order for Food and Supplies – Leader’s Guide” help article for more detailed instructions.
If a pickup location is selected, the order must be picked up at that location and at the date and time indicated on the order form.
Bishops (branch presidents) have the option to select a default pickup location for their ward (branch) through setting an option on their Settings tab. If a default pickup location is selected, all orders initiated for their unit will default to that location.
How do I fix the pickup location if I forgot to choose it before submitting/approving an order?
Refer to the sections above: “How can I make changes once I submit an order?” and “How do I choose a pickup location?”.
How do I cancel an order?
If an order has not yet been approved by the bishop (branch president), it can be deleted. An authorized preparer can click on the order in the Orders in Process list, scroll to the bottom of the form and click on the Delete button. This will remove the order from the system.
If an order has been approved by the bishop (branch president) but not yet “claimed” by the storehouse (i.e. the status is “Ready to be filled”), the bishop (branch president) or one of his counselors can click on the order to open it, scroll to the bottom of the form and click on the Cancel button. This will remove the order from the Orders in Process list, essentially deleting the order.
Will an order expire if it’s not picked up right away?
Orders that are not set to be delivered to a pickup location will expire 60 days after they are approved by the bishop (branch president) if they are not picked up at a storehouse within that timeframe. Expired orders are removed from the storehouse queue and cannot be recovered. If the recipient needs assistance after an order expires, a new order must be initiated and approved.
Orders that are delivered to a pickup location are considered “filled”, even if they are not picked up by the recipient (if the intended recipient of a delivered order cannot be contacted, the commodities are typically donated to a food bank – they are not returned to the storehouse). If the recipient needs assistance after an order delivery is missed, a new order must be initiated and approved.
Related Topics
You can find more information at the Help index for Welfare Services Resources.