Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Shared Meals

[Elizabeth Magill (pastorlizm]

We use a quite different strategy for meals--we have a "scheduler" who
assigns folks to cook, assistant cook, and three clean-up spots. Cook
sets menu and assigns whatever tasks to assistant cook, but most often
cook shops and organizes, assistant chops and sets up dining room.
Clean up folk negotiate with each other, someone to come early to
start sanitizer and set out soapy bins, someone to stay late to finish
up.

Every two months people turn in their preferences for when and whether
they want to cook or assist, and whether and when they want to clean.
Scheduler makes schedule.

Before pandemic we had 4 meals a week, 3 dinners and either breakfast
or brunch on the weekend. Mostly Tues, Thurs but once a month Mon,
Wed. Almost always Sunday evening.
Folk sign-up in gather for Meat ($5), Veg ($4), or half of either for
half price.

Most meals have options that don't have dairy, don't have gluten, and
don't have meat, but it is cook's choice. At the start vegetarian
cooks would have a meat-cooker assistant but a few folk now make
vegetarian only meals. Gather allows for us to identify our
communities allergies and all cooks mark which allergens will be
present at a meal. (Who knew? spinach! capsaicin! wine! plus the
usuals.)

After 6 or so months of no meals during covid we went to take out once
a week. Some households would pick up their meals (at the start of
this we had staggered entry times, and of course masked), while a few
high-risk folk had them delivered. Cooks and assistants from separate
households would work separately, sometimes doing parts of the meals
at home.
As it got warmer we ate outside, but take out was still available.

We now are back to meals twice a week, most people eat in, but a
significant group does take out.

Don't know if we'll ever get back to 4 meals a week, but I think we
could potentially get back to 3. Attendance runs 20-50 for sign-ups,
the vast majority are 30-40.

I made scarborough stew last night (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
on potatoes and carrots). Choices were beef, chicken (because some
folk don't eat mammals), and chickpeas. A neighbor made the bread. 43
people signed up, about 30 at in-person.
I didn't put a thickener in the liquid to keep it gluten free, but
next time I will figure out how to do that.

Mosaic Commons is 34 households, multi-generational, rural-ish.

-Liz
Mosaic Commons Cohousing in Berlin, MA
www.elizabethmaemagill.com
508-450-0431

On Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 11:01 AM JoAnna Allen via Cohousing-L
<cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
>
> *Hi fellow cohousers,*
> This dining thread is quite interesting.  I'd like to describe our
> system at *Phoenix Commons *in Oakland CA.  We are seven years old, have
> 41 units, 47 residents at this time.  Our building is 4 stories with the
> first floor all common space and garage, with a dining area that seats
> 60, full kitchen.  Our developer and his wife are members and
> othearchitect and his wife just bought the last developer owned unit.
> *
> **In general: * We have common meals on Mondays and Wednesdays, pot luck
> on Friday.  We use our Mosaic platform to sign up to be /main cook,
> assistant, salad bar assist (optional), set up, 2 cleaners/.  Diners
> sign up and are automatically billed ($6 per full meal, $4 salad bar
> only).  Menu is chosen by the main cook and it is up to them how much
> they can provide for vegetarians, gluten or dairy free diners,
> pescatarians, etc.  Workers earn task hours.  Pot lucks are totally
> voluntary for set up and cleanup. Attendance is between 16-26, with
> special events drawing over 30.  A designated member of the dining team
> shops for the staples for the pantry (mostly COSTCO), others take on
> tasks like frig and stove cleaning.  Cooks do their own shopping and
> meal signup is closed 3 days before to allow time for shopping and
> prep.  The food is served buffet style but tables are set ahead of time
> including  vases of flowers (a specialty of a resident), pitchers of
> water, salt & pepper, napkins, cutlery (sometimes forks only).
>
> *Covid impact: *We stopped these meals in March 2020, but then resumed
> in July by providing takeout meals in clam shells with signees picking
> up safely.  We have a courtyard over which all the units overlook.
> Outdoor heaters were purchased in 2020 so that residents could gather
> with their meals almost daily to eat outdoors, including some who picked
> up their common meals.  In 2021 we resumed indoor dining, pausing
> whenever Covid acted up, have been back to normal for months.  If no one
> signs up to cook, we skip that day but I have seen that happen only
> once.  We have also done extra weekend brunches (something prospective
> buyers could more easily attend) and if you have a guest, you simply add
> to your personal tally on Mosaic.  Pot lucks have been great fun with a
> huge variety as a chance to test recipes or just glean out your frig or
> pantry. Mosaic signup helps to balance the menu as each contribution is
> listed (or TBD) and for setting the tables.
>
> *Attendance:
> *In the earlier years attendance was high with some bringing their own
> meals to just socialize.   We have fallen into a pattern of steady
> attendance with some residents never coming to common meals (allergies
> and food preferences) or just preference for home cooked or privacy---
> with some residents never missing a meal, particularly those who work
> full time or several who save themselves cooking.  Many who never attend
> are very active in other ways so that the common thinking that meals are
> the major way to build community has fallen by the wayside.  In fact one
> resident who never attends any meals is the one who empties the
> dishwasher and keeps tables and chairs is order in addition to the
> kitchen.   Possibly the fact we are one building with small units and a
> busy first floor keeps us running constantly into each other.  17
> committees too.
>
> *Who Cooks? *This is totally on a "cook if you wish" basis with meals
> posted weeks in advance.  We are fortunate to be large enough to have
> many residents who love to cook with some being gourmets. (calamari
> steak recently, quail coming up).  Philip Dowd mentioned Asian stir
> fry.  I myself am Camtonese so prefer stir frying myself (try Malaysian
> mango chicken!).  Rice is frequent since we also have Vietnamese,
> Filipino, Japanese, residents.  We are California!  I once did a Korean
> rice bowl meal (bibimbap) which is fun with many rice toppings.  I agree
> with Philiip that this serves vegetarians, vegan, GF eaters well.  For
> some occasions (4th of July) the grill sits just outside the sliding
> doors to the patio and we have a resident who specializes in this.
>
> *Finances: *We started out $5 per meal but went to $6 to cover pantry
> and new supplies (paper towels, gloves, cleaning supplies, new cutting
> board, etc.)  We are well in the black due to a habit of being under
> budget so we use dining funds at times for special events.  We ask that
> each person do a dining task 1X month but we have not monitored this
> much since we seem to always be covered due to so many who love to cook
> or even clean.  We do ask incoming residents to place a deposit but I
> personally feel this is not necessary since everyone covers their
> monthly bill, sent automatically by email.
> *
> **How to promote? *My husband and I no longer do every meal, simply
> because he has certain dislikes.  We also like being home (PC was 80%
> Introverts in 2017) as a couple with our own favorite simple meals.  I
> also need to use up leftovers!!!  The fact that we are large enough
> provides good enough attendance not just for meals but planned events.
> IWalso like to encourage creativity and exploration.  Some day I would
> like to see us produce a Phoenix Commons cook book interlaced with
> stories of community life, so I am always on the look out for "best" dishes.
>
> Sincerely,
> JoAnna Allen
>
> **
> On 3/15/2023 10:28 PM, Grace Kim wrote:
> > Zev-
> > We have a very simple meal program that includes meals every other night 
> > except for Saturdays (3x week) since we moved in 7 years ago. We took a 
> > break for Covid, but transitioned to 3-family “bring your own dinners” 
> > outdoors even through the winter.
> > Community meals were sorely missed by all (grown ups and kids) and we 
> > brought them back last summer.
> >
> > We attribute our success to our simple and inclusive process. Team of 3 
> > cooks/cleans for each meal. Those teams are on regular rotation that lasts 
> > about 4-5 months.
> >
> > The lead cook rotates amongst the 3 on team- and the lead plans the menu, 
> > shops and pay for ingredients. The only requirement is for the meal to be 
> > delicious and nutritious for all. This ensures that no one has to weigh the 
> > cost of meals vs attendance. The lead cook shops within their household 
> > budget/means. There are no excuses for dietary restrictions/preferences 
> > being reason ppl can’t attend.
> >
> > There is a lot of ease, people just show up if they are home or get a late 
> > plate if they aren’t home. Or if they had rough day get a plate to take 
> > home. It’s not unusual for kids to come solo if their parents are at mtgs 
> > or events after work or out of town. We often have guests. No one counts 
> > how many came, no money changes hands. We figure over the long haul 
> > everyone has guests and it works out in the end.
> >
> > A visitor from Australian cohousing who stayed with us for a week said our 
> > program was brilliant! And we agree.
> >
> >
> > grace h. kim
> > schemata workshop
> > (sent via mobile messaging)
> > 206.795.2470
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> >
> >
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