Cohousing-L Mailing List: Common Meal Preparation/Survey

[Joani Blank (joani]

Hello cofriends,

At the Amherst conference, I had the privilege of facilitating a nifty
workshop during which representatives from 8 or 9 cohousing communities
told us how common meal preparation is shared in their communities.  I
would like to collect and tabulate information from as many communities as
possible to present to you in an article that will be published in the
CoHousing Journal in the winter issue.  So, if you live in a built
community that has common meals, please either respond to this survey
(directly to me @ joani [at] swansway.co, not to the list, puh-lease) yourself,
or invite another person to do so.  

This is the first in a series of surveys that the Cohousing Network plans
to run by you in coming years. If your community is a group member of the
network and does not yet have an official liaison to the board, this may be
a good time to see if a person in your community is interested in this
role. (Your group NEED NOT be a member of the Cohousing Network to fill out
this survey!)

1. How many adults live in your community? 
Who cooks? (Everyone? if not, who doesn't?). 
Who eats? (Can a member eat and not cook?)

2. How many common meals/week are served? 
Average number of eaters/diners?
On what days of the week? 
How often is each person does each person serve a cooking team? 
How many on a team?
Do the same or different people cook and clean up?

3. How is payment for meals structured?  
Do people pay a fixed price for a meal? If so, how much is it?
Or does the price vary according to the cost of the meal?

4.  How do you handle late plates and leftovers?

5. How do you deal with the variety of food needs (including different
meals for young children)?

6. What works best in the way your common meal preparation and cleanup are
done, and where is the biggest need for improvement.

7. What else would you like to say about common meals in your community
that I've forgotten to inquire about.

Remember NOT to send this to the whole list.  And if the person answering
this survey would like to be a community liaison to the Network Board,
please let me know that, or ask someone else if he or she is interested and
forward me their contact info if their response in the affirmative.

Thank you for your time.

Joani Blank