Hey there, thank you for your welcoming,anajonessy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:16 am My friends and I are starting a community garden here at our studio, everyone's welcome to volunteer and cook vegan meals in our kitchen. We are partnering soon with a local superstore so we could have their discarded veggies to cook, and propagate to add to our garden. Our project is met with a lot of skepticism at the moment but we are getting equal amounts of support too. Are there any similar projects in your area? Would love to get some tips. Also, I absolutely love the Abundance project! We have not been successful to get people involved with this sort of projects. *Sigh*
Community kitchens and food distribution like Food Not Bombs are very much discouraged in our country and doing so might get you in big trouble. The grassroots movements are doing it anyway, of course and I'm really glad.
It is difficult to give a good advice because my (socio-cultural) environment is different. All I can do is to pitch one of my idea to you.
So there is a community place, tables around and a cooking island in the middle. Storage is optional and donation based.
You have a calendar where people can book appointments to cook, to be a "chef" - with (let's say) a week deadline. When they book, they give the recipe for the meals, and they are responsible to cook for the guest seating. Guest can reserve a seat with 24h deadline (or depending on your ordering). The chef pays / transfers the money before ordering.
Your place is responsible for the ordering after they paid the "budget".
"Budget" is made by cleaning + utility bills + rent. When it is paid by the "chef" you can start advertising the event, accepts booking. When you have full booking / reach the deadline for your ordering, do the ordering or do the buy.
So "chefs" position are open, they kind of can play chef if they want, but then they are responsible for the full bookings to cook for. For example if they have a birthday party, all the place might be occupied by the guests of the chef, but when somebody volunteer to cook for every Friday night then it can be a person driven thing also. It is involving outsiders to participate and to book, but gives the chance to be exclusive for nights for the chef.
The key: it is not too difficult to cook 2x - 3x of the same people if you are already willing to cook for x.
When you do not have a "chef" booked, the position it is free for all, as long as it is vegan. Pricing is your thing.
