From Tayloe:
RFNB Cooking Day Activities (PP = Point Person)
- Food PP – Pull food for cooking at the Cary TJ’s dock. Transport to kitchen for
cooking. We start at TJ’s at 1:05p. Coordination with the Sue Chef for this task is
recommended.
- Fruit Salad/Veggie Salad PP (fruit is a very popular dish. Approx. 4 gallons for fruit and around 3 gallons for salad) – Remove tags and wash produce. Gather friends to help slice. Add trimmings to compost bag. Cover and refrigerate.
- Chef – Creates the hot meal from start to finish. How Chef orchestrates that is up
to them, so look to him/her if you want to or are asked to help. We cook for 60-
100.
- Resource Center PP – Facilitates the readiness of the Center, and coordinates the meal sharing process. Also coordinates the grocery pick up process.
- Transport PP – Ferries food to the Center.
- Pre-clean PP – Cleans up after transport: All tables counters sink and stove, items
used to prep, kitchen floor swept and moped, garbage out and new bag.
- Final clean PP – Cleaning and storage of the equipment that returns from the Center.
From Red:
CLEANING TASK GROUPS:
DISH CREW:
-Washing and putting away dishes
MOVING CREW:
-Moving tables and organizing room back to the way it originally ways
SPOT CLEANING CREW:
-Wipes off counters, vacuums, sweeps, and mops when needed
-Takes out ALL trash!
FINISHING CREW:
-Makes sure nothing is left in fridge
_Turns off all lights and closes doors
-Checks neatness of the storage area
From Richmond Food Not Bombs:
Cooking
Gather all of the food from various basements/ rooms/ cars/ etc.Bring up 2 tables from the basement and set them up in big roomBring up colanders, cutting boards, and knives from the basementAssess what you have and what you need in terms of food- dig through boxes, check the pantry etc.Come to a consensus about what dishes will be prepared from the food you have– Keep in mind how long things will need to cook and issues like limited stove top and oven space-Write the menu on the white board in the room, so everyone can remember what we have plannedDepending on how crowded etc. it is, get folks to bottomline particular dishes, to make sure for instance, everything that needs to be done for a stirfry is done- from washing the vegetable to thawing tofu to cooking itFigure out what, if anything you need from the store- i.e. ice, plates, garlic, sugar, rice etc. (Ideally this happens before a Sunday, but we aren’t perfect)Get money or the FNB Card, and have someone go to the storeRemember to wash produce before cutting it!!!If there is produce that you wouldn’t eat, don’t serve it! Use your judgment and don’t be afraid to ask if you aren’t sure.Generally speaking, you want to cut produce so it is ‘bite’ size.Cut up produce as needed for dishes- usually you have to figure out an order to do this in, based on what needs cooking- for instance typically the vegetables for the entree will be cut first, things like a salad, fruit salad, and bread can be prepared later in the day. Except lately, we have had the problem of finishing the hot food too quickly, so we have started doing the fruit salad and salad first so the hot food is still hot when we get to the park. Just an issue to keep in mind.(Most weeks) Cook rice in rice makerGet clean totes to put finished products inPut all the food scraps into boxes for composting
Ideas for food-We usually have some variation of the following. Don’t be afraid to be creative, just keep in mind making something that 150 people will want to eat:White RiceVegetable Stir Fry with Tofu, or other hot vegetable entreeMashed PotatoesPasta with veggies (usually happens when we are short on food)Fruit SaladSalad SaladApple CrispCorn on the cobBannana Bread or PuddingGreen Bean CasseroleSliced BreadSweets box (cake or muffins etc.)Gaspacho, Chili, or other soup
Keep in mind that we try to keep our food accessible to as many people as possible. So this can mean making sure we don’t make it too spicy, leave apples out of fruit salad cause folks without teeth have a hard time with apples, avoid using nuts in food (allergies) etc.
Bring to Park3 water coolers- sometimes they will all have water, sometimes there will be citrus drink or coffee in one or 2 of them3 long folding tables for serving the food and drinks1 small card table for literatureBasket with serving utensils- tongs, big spoons, ladlesPaper platesPlastic ForksPlastic spoonscupssalt and peppercondomshot saucemilk/sugar if we have coffeeall the food you made- so a bunch of totes, buckets, RICE etc.literature for literature tablefood not bombs flagsMenu sign, and chalkall of the give away foodfriendssmiles
At the Park, (corner of Main and Belvidere) we set up three tables for food and drinks. In front of the first table we put the Menu Sign with the days menu on it. The first table generally has the plates, Rice/Pasta, hot main meal dishes like mashed potatoes/green bean casserole etc. The second table tends to have the fruit salad, salad, bread, and any dessert item. The last table has the drinks, cups, forks, condiments, and condoms.We need people to help serve each of the dishes. Since there are usually 2-3 dishes per table it makes sense to have 2-3 people at each table. If you are new, you might be more comfortable if you have a buddy with more experience at the same table as you. Folks in the park line up at the menu sign, and go to the tables in order. Ask folks if they want whatever it is you are serving. You have to be a little conscious of how much of your dish you have versus how many people want to eat, but generally speaking we try to be generous. And once the line has gone through people are welcome to come back for seconds.
Grocery give away can be a stressful part of Food Not Bombs. Unfortunately we live in a world where folks do not have equal access to food. So often people stress out over it, and have a tendency to get pushy during the grocery give away. We do the grocery give away after it looks like most people have finished their meal. Then we get a bunch of volunteers to distribute the food. We used to just put the boxes on the ground, but now we are trying handing the food out from the back of the truck. That seemed like it worked pretty well. Feel free to ask other Food Not Bombsers about this so you know what to expect.
After we serve the meal in the park, it is REALLY IMPORTANT that folks come back to the Wingnut to help clean up.
Clean UpMake sure tables are wiped downReturn all 4 tables to the basementWash all cutting boards,knivescolanders,serving utensils,pots,pans,woks, etc. used in the food preparation and serving process.Dry all cutting boards, knives, colanders, serving utensils, pots, pans, woks etc. and return to the basementEmpty the totes, compost or give away the foodWash out the totesWash out the water coolers and return to basementPut rice maker back in basementWipe down kitchen countersWipe down stoveFlatten all cardboard boxesTake cardboard to a recycling dumpster (firepit in backyard)Consolidate all compostTake compost to compost pile in backyard of WingnutReturn literature, condoms, plastic silverware, plates, etc. to the basement, neatly.Clear everything out of the living roomsSweep all the floorsMop all the floorsTake out the trashDouble check that everything is spick and span please!Tell your friends and family to come next week to help out!Talk about who is doing the food pickups for the next week- make sure they are all covered.
