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If possible schedule your event near the time and
place of a another popular local event — you might
hold a spaghetti feed the night before a fun run or a pancake
breakfast before a parade. Piggybacking on an existing
event means you’ll have many customers close by who
need a meal and would be more than happy to support
your good cause.
Discuss the menu with your parents and
volunteers. Think of ways to keep it simple to prepare and
serve, as well as inexpensive. Assign duties: shopping,
preparation, cooking, serving and clean-up. Sell as many
tickets as possible in advance so that you will have an
estimate of how many people you will need to cook for. Use
the money from pre-sold tickets to purchase the needed
supplies. Plan for extras because you will want to sell as
many meals as possible.
Make posters and flyers ahead of time and
make sure to list the price, the start time of your meal, and
any entertainment that will be there. Arrive early to
organize all of your volunteers and answer any last-minute
questions. Try to greet everyone who attends your event and
print out a thank-you sheet with your picture for them to
take home. At the end of your event, be sure to clean the
facility well. Go home and personally write a thank-you note
to every volunteer who helped you, as well as to the
facility and entertainers.
Variations:
Consider catering someone else’s event. Think of all the
events that take place in your community and ask how you
could raise funds and provide a valuable service as part of
it. Make sack lunches to sell at a community Easter-egg hunt
(be sure to keep them properly refrigerated), or provide
snack trays to volunteers working a community event. Grill
hot-dogs for community softball or other sports tournaments.
Get creative, but always be cautious and handle food
appropriately to keep it safe.
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