New feature · 4 min read · October 2026
Import your schedule: write it out, upload it, and let iLunch do the rest
Most meal and ride schedules start on paper, in a text thread, in a spreadsheet or in someone's calendar. Now you can bring that schedule straight into iLunch instead of entering each day by hand. Take a photo of a handwritten list, paste a list, upload a CSV or Excel file, or import a calendar file. iLunch turns it into a list of dates and times, and you review every one before it's saved. It's free, and helpers still sign up without an account.
Free · No ads · Helpers don't need accounts
Watch how it works
Watch a schedule get imported into a meal or ride train.
Four ways to bring your schedule in
Import works when you start a meal train or a ride train, and from the organizer page of a train you already made.
Take a photo. On a phone, tap Take a photo and snap your list. It can be typed, printed or handwritten, even on a napkin. AI reads the dates, times and notes.
Use the QR code on a computer. Scan the code with your phone, take the photo there, and the dates show up on your computer screen to review.
Paste a list. Copy dates and times from a text, an email or a note and paste them in.
Upload a spreadsheet or calendar file. Use a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file, or start from the sample file you can download. You can also import a calendar file (.ics) exported from Google Calendar or Apple Calendar.
You review everything before it's saved
Nothing goes on the train until you say so. Imported days show up in a list you can fix first.
Edit or delete any date, time or note that came through wrong. Messy handwriting may need a few fixes.
On a ride train, each ride keeps its own time, so Monday at 4 PM and Thursday at 8 AM can live on the same train.
After saving, you can still change the time on any single ride without moving the rest. If a driver already claimed it, they get an email about the change.
Easier for helpers, too
Once the train is set up, helpers get a few new shortcuts.
Pick a day: a button at the top of the train page jumps straight to the open days, or the next open ride.
Share for everyone: helpers can pass the link along by text, Facebook (WhatsApp for carpools) or a copied link, not just the organizer.
Helpers still don't need an account or an app. They tap the link, pick a day and get a reminder.
Set up a train by speaking instead of typing
Read a short fill-in-the-blank script out loud, such as "I am creating a meal train for ___. The first drop-off date is ___," and iLunch turns what you say into dates and times to review.
It works on a phone, or from a computer by scanning the QR code and recording with your phone's microphone.
Speaking instead of typing can help if typing is hard, including for people who are blind or have low vision, people with limited hand mobility, or anyone setting up a train in a hurry.
Names, addresses, phone numbers and medical details are typed into the form, not spoken, so they aren't part of the recording.
As with every import, you review the dates before anything is saved.
Watch it set up by voice
Import for kids carpools
Kids carpools have the same photo, list, spreadsheet, calendar file, voice and QR code options, so a school or practice schedule can become carpool trips.
Kids' names and home addresses are typed in the form, not read from a photo or recording.
Drivers can pick a trip and share the link, and organizers can still add trips by hand.