Re: Communal eating question from new UK group | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: S. Kashdan (skashdanscn.org) | |
Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 00:06:01 -0700 (MST) |
Hello Helen, Here at Jackson Place Cohousing, in urban Seattle, we are 27 families. We moved in over a few months between October and December of 2001. Many of our members were very excited about getting started on common meals, but the kitchen in the common house was not finished when we first moved in, because we decided to hold off to make sure we could complete the project. We completed our kitchen last April and began meals shortly afterwards. Our meals process is not difficult for most members. We have a meals club. Each adult pays $3 in advance and each child pays $1.50 for each meal. The money goes into a common pool from which the funds for the meals and kitchen supplies come. We sign up in advance for meals. The kitchen team schedules and coordinates meals based on who signs up to cook, and what they choose to cook. After people sign up, the cooks tailor the meals based on who is signed up for their meals (with what food preferences--vegetarian or meat eater--and with what food sensativities or needs). We have two cooks and two cleaners for each meal. We have five common meals, four on weekday evenings, and one either in the morning or evening on alternate Saturdays and Sundays. The kitchen team orders most food in advance based on cooks plans, and we buy a lot of bulk things wholesale. We also buy from local farmers' markets, and local farmers when we can. Our kitchen team lead uses a spreadsheet to coordinate everything, because she is used to using such things. But I think that there was a description on this list earlier this month or in October that discussed how to do basically the same thing manually. But, our common house dining room isn't very good acoustically. We didn't have it soundproofed when it was built. So, we are finding that the poor sound quality and the sound level make it unpleasant for many of us during common meals. Some of us have hearing problems, and that makes it even more difficult. And some have children, who are speaking at the top of their voices just the way the adults are. So, many people are now choosing to take their food home, rather than eat in the common house dining room after a busy day's work. We are looking into possible soundproofing now and hope to be able to afford it in a few months. Based on our experience, I would strongly recommend that you take care of your dining room's soundproofing if you want your common meals to be an enjoyable sharing experience. Coheartedly yours, Sylvie Kashdan Jackson Place Cohousing 800 Hiawatha Place South Seattle, WA 98144 www.seattlecohousing.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "Fred H Olson" <fholson [at] cohousing.org> To: "-cohousing-L mailing list" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2002 12:51 PM Subject: [C-L]_Communal eating question from new UK group Helen Nightingale <helen.nightingale [at] fish.co.uk> is the author of the message below. It was posted by Fred the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org> because the message included HTML ; PLEASE do not post HTML, see http://csf.colorado.edu/cohousing/2001/msg01672.html -------------------- FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS -------------------- Hello from Springhill, Stroud England We are a group of 30 families currently building a co-housing project in Stroud, Gloucestershire (www.cohouses.net). Now that building has started we are concentrating on the common house and the way in which we see ourselves living there. We are very exc ited at the prospect of eating together but find the organisation of such a task a challenge to say the least. It would be very helpful to hear about other communities experiences and how they have managed to accomplish this feat. We are particularly co ncerned about administration (meal planning, food ordering, keeping accounts etc.) and the amount of time that will need to be devoted to it. It would seem to be practically a full time job, I would love to hear of your experiences. Looking forward to hearing from fellow co-housers Best wishes Helen _______________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org Unsubscribe and other info: http://www.communityforum.net/mailman/listinfo/cohousing-l _______________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org Unsubscribe and other info: http://www.communityforum.net/mailman/listinfo/cohousing-l
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Communal eating question from new UK group Fred H Olson, November 20 2002
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Re: Communal eating question from new UK group Sharon Villines, November 20 2002
- Re: Communal eating question from new UK group Elizabeth Stevenson, November 20 2002
- Re: Communal eating question from new UK group S. Kashdan, November 22 2002
- Re: Communal eating question from new UK group S. Kashdan, November 22 2002
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Re: Communal eating question from new UK group Sharon Villines, November 20 2002
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