More years ago than I care to admit, my husband I were about to get married. I am jewish, he was catholic (his mom was very devout) and we had to find a happy medium. We ended up being referred to a priest who had been thrown out from the priesthood for protesting the Vietnam war - but who had continued to serve his community, simply without a collar. (Spoiler alert he did such great works they finally took him back.) Anyhoo, one of the things he had done completely on his own was to set up a community center, with classes. And one of the biggest, most popular classes? Cooking classes. That way folks would not be dependent on fast food and could eat healthier and save money. It was a hit and changed and helped many lives. Hooray!
But that’s how powerful cooking is : )
You might also look for an instant pot or crock pot sponsor. A 6 quart crock pot is about $20 but the ability to make big tasty healthy food that can serve you for days? Priceless. And an easy demo.
As a writer I ended up being called in to chat with young mom’s who were still in high school - but wanted to move forward, well. And as someone who had had to juggle working full time while doing a second job at night (writing) - I was able to say - take a few hours over the weekend to prep and cook and the rest of your week will be SO much easier. You can scoop, warm and serve and it will be cheaper and so much better for you than fast food. And still tasty!
This gal is in NoCal and - she’s fantastic -
Her stuff is easy, family and time friendly. And nope, I am not a sponsor, I have never met her. But her recipes and methods have made such a time saving difference to us!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share that. I think I ALMOST married a Jewish guy ( probably not), and I was sort of Catholic. My kids are sort of Episcopalian.
Although I’d normally endorse a local catering company, check out Sweet Garden if you end up going the bowl route. They are a chain and you may be able to get them to donate some of the food. Then, maybe the extra funds can go to a door prize like a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
ETA; found it! They sound perfect since the chain pulls from local resources, but there is no online ordering in Berkeley, so I can’t get a sense of what the menu would be like od cost in March. I don’t see anything about catering on their website. Do you think they do that?
A few additional thoughts. Are you actually placing a notice in the Oakland paper? If so I agree with some of the others to advertise a door prize. Insta-pot or crockpot would be nice. But only to the first 100 who actually take the time to sign up. Free prizes! Should be world of mouth after that to ensure a crowd of 200. This is the type of crowd that doesn’t necessarily understand RSVP.
There is a communications committee that will be publicizing the event in the last two to four weeks. I think social media, churches, radio, newspapers (what’s that? ), community health and other organizations.
I wasn’t thinking of a prize, but I WAS thinking of offering choice of lunch box and priority seating for the demo for a reasonable number of folks who pre-register.
I can’t imagine having no idea about the number until the day of, and having 200 folks trying to pick what they want to eat. Not sure how much that will help, and am definitely open to all suggestions.
Also, I still have to submit the proposed budget approved, and could have to change ge the plan considerably, but it’s been fun.
You’re doing the right thing.
Those great arrangements you made and all your hard work will be there for you to pick up on when the time is right.
FYI, by last week technology companies (the industry where I work) large and small either cancelled, virtualized, or pushed back their conferences until later in the year. You are in good company.
), community health and other organizations.
sorry