Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Meal Tracking Programs

[Diana Carroll (dianaecarroll]

On Thu, Apr 3, 2014 at 9:47 AM, Sharon Villines
<sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>wrote:

>
>
> On Apr 2, 2014, at 5:47 PM, Diana Carroll <dianaecarroll [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>
> > Your system only works for people who can make all or at least most
> Monday
> > nights in a given rotation. Anyone else doesn't get to participate.
>
> People sign up for each rotation. If they can't make many of the nights,
> they don't sign up for that rotation. A rotation lasts as long as the
> number of cook teams. Or they ask for late plates. Or sign up for those
> they can make and pay the $4.
>

Okay, I thought from what Ann said that you were either signed up for the
whole rotation or you weren't, and that money didn't change hands because
everyone in the rotation cooked one time and paid for their meals that way.

If there's an individual meal sign up then...doesn't that mean the same
logistical difficulties the rest of us encounter, requiring spread sheets,
etc?


>
> > What about if someone is a picky eater, or has allergies, or for other
> reasons
> > finds they simply can't eat what ends up getting served on a given night?
> > Or whose schedules vary a lot and don't have them home the same night
> > every week?
>
> In this case they make a note when they sign up or bring their own meal or
> don't eat in the CH.
>

Right. "bring their own meal or don't eat the CH"...that is, they don't
participate. My point was that a system without individual signups (which
is what I thought you had based on what Ann said) outright excludes people
who have erratic schedules or difficult diets.

>
> We have both vegans and vegetarians. Since almost all meals are vegetarian
> that isn't a problem. Vegan's are harder to plan for but people do it. And
> some meals are vegan -- rice, soup, salad is common for Monday nights. One
> person makes tacos, a big night, and those can be vegan, vegetarian, or
> meat.
>
>
Yeah, it isn't the vegetarians that are difficult, IME...it's people with
more restrictive diets (whether due to health or preference), or people
with allergies to common ingredients (e.g. celiac) who have trouble
participating fully in our shared meal program...and would have even more
issues if they had to sign up either for a whole rotation or none at all,
not knowing ahead exactly what the menus would be.  My family would be
excluded from the "whole rotation or none" plan by virtue of how few meals
are 100% gluten free.

Diana