Successful community dinners are the result of careful planning and preparation.
Community meals take the form of fundraisers, award events, opportunities to meet neighbors or meals before special presentations. Attendance ranges from dozens to hundreds and the meals are held in auditoriums, cafeterias or parks during all seasons of the year. Community meals run the gamut from informal meals with paper plates, such as barbecues and picnics, to sit-down dinners with fine china. Careful planning of the menu, site, decorations, serving method and cleanup results in a successful community meal.
Instructions
1. Select a location for the community meal. Ensure that there is ample parking, restrooms, seating and kitchen space. If the community meal will be held outside, have alternate plans for inclement weather.
2. Create the menu to accommodate the budget and kitchen size. Select an easy-to-prepare meal if there is limited kitchen space or prepare food off-site. Compare the food preparation requirements with the available stove-top, oven and refrigerator space.
3. Get help with preparing the food, or hire a caterer. Obtain sufficient serving plates and utensils.
4. Determine the serving method. Set up buffet lines with efficient traffic patterns or find enough servers to promptly serve all in attendance. Select the type of beverages, determine how they will be served and obtain the required permits for providing alcoholic beverages.
5. Select a theme, create decorations and obtain table coverings. Find appropriate music. Select paper plates and plastic ware or obtain silverware and crockery plates.
6. Find helpers for clearing and cleaning the tables, or provide trash cans for disposable items. Organize the cleanup of the site.
7. Publicize the community event. Create posters, mail invitations and design newspaper, television or radio announcements. Send e-mail invitations. Sell tickets or request reservations to determine the number of meals to prepare.
8. List the steps with a timetable for food preparation and set-up. Purchase nonperishable food days or weeks prior to the dinner. Purchase perishable food and fresh flowers one day prior to the event.
Tags: community meal, Community meals, food preparation, kitchen space, paper plates, serving method