Food costs can quickly sink your Women’s Ministry budget for an event.
I know a team that grew tired of making food for every event so they decided to add a line to their budget.
They budgeted around $125 for food from Sam’s Club.
Which is okay. Except this was for a gathering of only about 25 women.
Ya’all that’s at least $5 per person for snacks.
For most of our budgets that’s too much…
My heart sinks thinking about how half that money (really, more) could have been used to buy supplies for a Mission Project or some other cause…
Asking your own women to bring food does two things:
- It encourages them to come to the event. Chances are they won’t come alone, either. They’ll ask a friend to meet them there.
- It gives your women the opportunity to serve one another.
Why you should ask your women to bring food:
- They have great recipes to share! Aunt Ida’s apple pie. Mama’s famous cheese ball. Women will be begging for the recipes and lavishing them with compliments.
- There is a group of women at your church that would love the excuse to try a new recipe – you can thank Pinterest!
- There are women who would love an opportunity to cook for someone else. Not everyone has someone to cook for and not everyone’s efforts are appreciated at home.
- It will decrease your clean-up and set-up time when you use the plates and serving dishes the women bring.
That being said, some women would stay home if you required them to bring a dish.
You need to build a Food Team.
My 2-in-1 Door Prize/Volunteer Form is the easiest way I know to build volunteer teams.
You will also need to recruit a Food Team Leader. Your Food Team Leader will be responsible for calling the needed number of women 2 weeks prior to the event.
- Ask your women to bring something sweet, salty, or healthy.
- No need to take notes or pass a sign-up sheet – it almost always works itself out and if there’s two of something it really isn’t a big deal.
- Set the gentle expectation that these women will stay for the event. I.E. “We’re having a Fellowship next Friday night, could you come and bring a snack?”
- Spread out the work and only ask each woman to help 2-3 times per year if possible. Keep track on a spreadsheet.
When your women bring food to your fellowships you get a great variety, give women the opportunity to serve, and keep your expenses to a minimum.
How do you handle food for your fellowships?
You may also want to read:
Addressing Diets and Food Allergies
10 Tips for Serving Food Faster
Food Bars
Diedra Robinette says
Hi Cindy
Do you have any advice on how to create a time frame for a ladies gathering in planning a meal? We seem to not being good stewards with the money we’re budgeted because we plan a dinner, and either have too many show up or not enough show up and have not enough food or too little food.
We are the women from Heartland Church in Kentucky that attended your conference a few years ago.💝
Cyndee Ownbey says
Deidra, are you requiring women to register for each meeting/event? Are you preparing the food yourselves or catering? A good caterer should be able to accurately provide enough food for the number in attendance. If you’re doing it yourself, search online for a food calculator. One great tip someone gave me years ago was to put the item you have the most of first on the buffet line – salad is great for this! As their plate fills up, they’ll take smaller and smaller portions. You could also recruit women to serve the food so women aren’t taking too big of a portion. Food is tricky! Praying one of more of those tips will help. PS/I remember you all well! <3