Recurring Orders

Set up a recurring order to automatically receive the same items on a regular schedule, without placing a new order each time.

Overview

Recurring orders let you repeat a previous order on a regular basis -- weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. Once set up, the system automatically creates a new order for you at each scheduled interval. A scheduled background process (cron job) runs periodically to check which recurring orders are due, and creates them automatically. If all items from your original order are in stock, the order is placed without any action needed from you. If some items are out of stock, you receive a confirmation email asking you to review and approve the order before it is placed.

This feature is only available if your food bank has enabled it. If you do not see a recurring orders option in your account menu, your food bank does not currently offer this feature.

Key Concepts

Source order -- a previous order you have completed. The recurring order copies the items from this order each time.
Frequency -- how often the order repeats. Options are weekly, fortnightly (every two weeks), or monthly, depending on what your food bank allows.
Next scheduled date -- the date your next recurring order is due. This is calculated automatically based on your pickup location's schedule.
Confirmation email -- sent only when some items from your order are out of stock. You receive an email with a link to review which items are available and decide whether to proceed. If all items are in stock, the order is placed automatically and you receive a notification email instead.
Active config -- your current recurring order setup. You can only have one active recurring order at a time.

How It Works

Setting up a recurring order

Go to My account and select Recurring orders from the sidebar (or navigate to the recurring orders page).
If you have no active recurring order, you will see the setup form.
Select a source order -- choose one of your completed orders from the dropdown. When you select an order, a preview panel shows the items and quantities from that order along with current prices.
Choose a frequency -- select weekly, fortnightly, or monthly. The available options depend on what your food bank allows. When you select an order and frequency, the page shows a preview of your next pickup date, the subsequent pickup date, and the pickup location.
Click Set up recurring order to activate it.
You will see a success message confirming the recurring order has been created.

How orders are created automatically

A scheduled background process runs periodically to check which recurring orders are due. For each due recurring order, the system:

Checks your order limit -- if you have already reached your maximum number of orders for the period, the recurring order is skipped and rescheduled to the next date.
Checks item availability -- the system checks whether the items from your source order are currently in stock.
Based on stock availability, one of three things happens:

All items in stock -- the order is created and placed automatically. You receive a confirmation email with your order details. No action is needed from you.

Some items out of stock -- the recurring order is paused and you receive a confirmation email with a unique link. Click the link to open the confirmation page, which shows:

Available items -- items that are in stock and will be included.
Unavailable items -- items that are out of stock, highlighted so you can see what will be missing.
Choose to Proceed (the order is placed with available items only) or Cancel (the recurring order is cancelled entirely).

All items out of stock -- the order is skipped entirely and rescheduled to the next date. No email is sent.

Viewing your active recurring order

Go to the Recurring orders page in your account.
If you have an active recurring order, the page shows:
- Source order -- the order number and pickup date of the original order, with a link to view it.
- Frequency -- how often the order repeats (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly).
- Next order date -- when your next recurring order is scheduled.
- Pickup location -- where you will collect the order.
Below the summary you can see the items that will be included, with current stock status:
- Items that are in stock are listed in a table with name, quantity, and current price.
- Items that are out of stock are shown with a strikethrough, so you can see what will be missing.

If your recurring order is awaiting confirmation (the confirmation email has been sent but you have not yet responded), a banner is displayed to let you know.

Cancelling a recurring order

Go to the Recurring orders page in your account.
Below the item list, click the Cancel recurring order button.
Confirm when prompted.
Your recurring order is deactivated. No further orders will be scheduled.

You can also cancel from the confirmation email page by choosing the cancel option instead of proceeding.

Common Tasks

Changing the items in your recurring order

You cannot edit the items in an active recurring order directly. To change the items:

Cancel your current recurring order.
Place a new order with the items you want.
Set up a new recurring order using that new order as the source.

Changing the frequency

To change how often your order repeats:

Cancel your current recurring order.
Set up a new recurring order and choose the new frequency.

Understanding how pickup dates are calculated

The system calculates your next pickup date based on:

Your pickup location's delivery schedule -- each location has a set day and time for pickups.
Your chosen frequency -- the system finds the next valid pickup day at your location that matches the frequency interval.
For monthly orders, the system tries to schedule pickup on a date close to the same day of the month as your original order. If that day does not fall on a delivery day, the closest delivery day in that month is used.

All dates are calculated in your food bank's local timezone.

FAQ

Can I have more than one recurring order at a time? No. You can only have one active recurring order. If you set up a new one, any existing recurring order is cancelled automatically.

What happens if items in my order go out of stock? If some items are out of stock, the system pauses your recurring order and sends you a confirmation email. The confirmation page shows which items are available and which are not. You can choose to proceed with the available items or cancel. If all items are out of stock, the order is skipped entirely and rescheduled to the next date.

Do I need to confirm every order? No. If all items are in stock, the order is placed automatically and you receive a notification email. You only need to confirm if some items are out of stock — in that case you receive a confirmation email asking you to review and approve the order with the available items.

What if I do not respond to the confirmation email? If you do not click the link and confirm, the order is not placed. Your recurring order remains paused until you respond. The next scheduled order will not be created until you confirm or cancel.

Can I pause my recurring order instead of cancelling it? Currently, you cancel the recurring order and set up a new one when you are ready to resume.

What happens if my pickup location changes its schedule? The system uses your pickup location's current delivery day when calculating the next date. If the schedule changes, your next pickup date adjusts to match the new delivery day.

Why do I not see the recurring orders option? Your food bank may not have enabled this feature. Contact them if you would like to use recurring orders.

What happens when I cancel from the confirmation email? Choosing cancel on the confirmation page cancels the entire recurring order, not just that single occurrence. No further orders will be scheduled.