Re: Request for meals info offline
From: Lindsay Morris (lindsayTSMworks.com)
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:33:51 -0700 (PDT)
We have busy people here at Solterra too.  We'd like to share meals, but it 
wasn't happening.

So I started "Cantina Night":  every Tuesday I take 2-3 hours, set up a taco 
bar, lasagna, or some easy-to-fix meal;
I ask $4-$5 donation, and encourage people to either stay and eat, or take-away 
if that works better.

It usually draws 12-20 people, a third or half of our community.

* No commitment required: not to a work system, not to a schedule.  Some people 
help me clean up though.
* No scheduling required (though I get a headcount from our e-calendar prior to 
shopping)
* We don't try to meet all dietary constraints. Some people bring some of their 
own food, and donate less in that case.
* Nobody's intimidated by store-bought lasagna.
* It's great for busy tired people to just come home and eat, period.
* People give me lots of kudos - and lately some other people have been 
volunteering to cook, too!

So if you can find a menu that fits in your available time, it's easy to get 
started.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jennifer Taub [mailto:jennifer.taub [at] gmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 8:07 AM
> To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Subject: [C-L]_ Request for meals info offline
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I can't really keep up with list volume, but I am trying to complie
> information about how different coho communities make their meals
> system
> work.
>
> So far, we have had a smattering of community meals, but it's
> inconsistent
> and entirely a volunteer effort. We've had one recent offshoot of a
> "private
> dinner club" that meets 2x/week in our GR and provides meals for 4-5
> households in that group. They are running smoothly, but other
> households
> are only included by personal invitation only. Attempts to start a
> second
> group haven't worked (no one wants to commit; some are concerned about
> being
> in a small group with others with dietary restrictions).
>
> As for full community meals (actually, weeknight "community meals" tend
> to
> be attended by 12-16 which is a nice size). We are a coho community of
> 30
> households (about 1/3 with kids). We've been trying, but have a few big
> barriers:
>
> 1) Most adults work FT and aren't available to cook in the daytime to
> have a
> large meal ready by 6:30 or so.
>
> 2) Several attempts to integrate meals into our work system have been
> unsuccessful. Many people don't want to do the extra work that doesn't
> count
> towards community hours. We've tried and tried to work on this one (and
> will
> even be having outside facilitation around our work system). I am
> convinced
> that this isn't the direction for us to go, but it's a huge barrier.
>
> 3) Some people are intimidated by some of the large meals that have
> been
> produced by people who are talented cooks.
>
> 4) Even when people do take initiative to prep a meal, often people
> don't
> want to sign up till the last minute because they don't know what their
> schedules will be like.
>
> I'm interested in offline replies (much easier for me to find and sort
> through), but will understand if you want to post to the list as well.
>
> Thanks in advance - Jennifer
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