community potluck-how to include everyone

Parent Cafe
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<p>In our town, we’re trying to enhance our sense of community by holding a series of potluck lunches or dinners combined with other events. Our first one is combined with a family-oriented concert and proceeds of the concert will benefit our new food shelf. Then we realized we’d like food shelf recipients to come to the dinner, but how do we invite them so they’d feel ok about not bringing something?</p>

<p>paying3tuitions, I’m counting on you here.</p>

<p>How can we be sensitive and welcoming and inclusive?</p>

2

<p>Invite ME :)</p>

<p>How about this: Entry fee for all = 1 can of food. Optional: bring a covered dish to share.</p>

<p>The other thought that came to mind is to seek the opinion of the key person who runs the food shelf. Ask that community organizer to do a lot of word-of-mouth in the weeks before that this is a sincere event and they’re really going to be welcome. </p>

<p>That person could ensure that each needy person has the can to walk in with. (And of course, the cans all get returned to the pantry).</p>

<p>Ask people who aren’t from the food pantry to sit at many tables and not fill them up, so there’s a mixing of people at the tables. If you must, assign someone from the organizing committee to each and every table so there’s no such thing as a table with only pantry-members. </p>

<p>Who else has ideas for bethie…??</p>

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<p>Thanks, p3t, I knew you’d help out. I have an e-mail in to the food shelf person, but she’s brand new. We’ve never needed a food shelf here. We just want a way for people to feel good about the whole thing. The helpers feel good. We will get this figured out. I like your ideas.</p>

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<p>Ask people to EITHER come early to set up OR bring a dish. Everybody likes to feel they have something to contribute.</p>

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<p>Oh, that’s a good idea too, geomom. We really want people to feel good about coming.</p>

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<p>Or just don’t publicly refer to it as a pot-luck, ie on the signage etc. This may or may not be practical depending on how many you are talking about including. You might have the organizers phone people to solicit dishes for the event and/or send out a differently worded invitation from the one the recipients are receiving. Then have those who are bringing dishes bring them over earlier so that nobody is walking in with food at the same time as the recipients.</p>

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<p>These are all really helpful suggestions. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Will there be other food available, or do you have to be careful to make sure that enough people do bring food so that everyone is served? In other words, if you don’t market it as a pot-luck, will people actually bring food?</p>

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<p>Yes, we’d have to have a core group providing extra food. Since everyone in town is invited, it could get tricky with having enough food.</p>

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<p>I think the “Bring a can” or a dish is a great idea. There are always cans of something that are not wanted.</p>