---
title: Set up meal frequency – recurring meals
description: "The Meal Frequency feature allows you to automate recurring meals. You can customize how often meals repeat, define the duration of recurrence, and set start and end times. Options include: - Frequency: Choose how often the meal repeats (e.g., daily,…"
url: "https://docs.empowercloudsolutions.com/docs/set-up-meal-frequency-recurring-meals/"
updated: "2024-11-06"
category: Meals / Meals Administration
---

# Set up meal frequency – recurring meals

The Meal Frequency feature allows you to automate recurring meals. You can customize how often meals repeat, define the duration of recurrence, and set start and end times. Options include:

- Frequency: Choose how often the meal repeats (e.g., daily, weekly).
- Duration: Set the recurrence for a specific period, choose an end date, or select an ongoing schedule.
- Start & End Time: Specify the exact start and end time for each meal.

## Setting Up Recurring Meals with Meal Frequency

When a meal is set to repeat through Meal Frequency, it establishes a "Parent/Child" relationship. In this setup:

- **Parent Meal (P)**: This is the main meal event where you can control recurrence settings.
- **Child Meals (S)**: These are generated automatically based on the parent meal’s recurrence settings.

### Identifying Parent and Child Meals

- **Parent Meal**: Marked with a "P" and allows editing of recurrence details.
- **Child Meal**: Marked with an "S" and reflects the settings defined in the parent meal.

If you wish to adjust the recurrence, navigate to the **parent meal** directly or select a **child meal** and click **Edit Parent Event** to access the parent meal’s settings. Editing a child meal will display "Not set to repeat" since its recurrence is managed through the parent meal.

### Configuring a Recurring Meal

1. **Choose the Parent Meal**: Open the meal detail page of the main (parent) meal you want to set for recurrence.
2. **Edit Recurrence Details**:
   - **Frequency**: From the meal frequency options, select how often you want the meal to repeat.
   - **Recurrence End**: Choose if the meal should repeat indefinitely (**Ongoing**) or set a limit with either an **End Date** or **Repeat Count**.
   - **Start and End Date**: Define the start date, start time, and end date of the meal frequency.
3. **Save Changes**: Select **Submit** to apply the recurrence settings.

**Note**: When there is no recurrence, a meal displays as a standalone parent meal.

#### See Also

[Create meals](https://docs.empowercloudsolutions.com/docs/create-meals/)
 [Set up meal types](https://docs.empowercloudsolutions.com/docs/set-up-meal-types/)
 [Assign residents to meals](https://docs.empowercloudsolutions.com/docs/assign-residents-to-meals/)