I did this with my fellow local activists/revolutionaries for about a year and a half, up til lockdown. We have comrades in another city who had weekly dinners, and said that from their experience, the potluck model was very inefficient, because it was more taxing, everybody had to put something together and felt a bit of guilt if they didn't. They told us that 2-3 people cooking for everyone was better. The majority of the time it was me directing it, and I often wanted to make something new and exciting or something that used up a plentiful ingredient. Often I'd revert to guaranteed crowd-pleasers like pizza or quiche, or my friend would make a Thai curry.
3-5 work-hours would feed 12-20 people, occasionally even more, sometimes with leftovers. Even with the most costly ingredients, the cost per serving was well under $2.
If you have friends and/or neighbors you think might be interested, start just inviting 2 or 3 over for a meal you prepare. Make it clear that you want it to become a sort of casual rotation, from each their capability. Then start inviting more people, and scale it up. The act of asking is the hardest part; I was lucky to have a pre-made group already.
I did this with my fellow local activists/revolutionaries for about a year and a half, up til lockdown. We have comrades in another city who had weekly dinners, and said that from their experience, the potluck model was very inefficient, because it was more taxing, everybody had to put something together and felt a bit of guilt if they didn't. They told us that 2-3 people cooking for everyone was better. The majority of the time it was me directing it, and I often wanted to make something new and exciting or something that used up a plentiful ingredient. Often I'd revert to guaranteed crowd-pleasers like pizza or quiche, or my friend would make a Thai curry.
3-5 work-hours would feed 12-20 people, occasionally even more, sometimes with leftovers. Even with the most costly ingredients, the cost per serving was well under $2.
If you have friends and/or neighbors you think might be interested, start just inviting 2 or 3 over for a meal you prepare. Make it clear that you want it to become a sort of casual rotation, from each their capability. Then start inviting more people, and scale it up. The act of asking is the hardest part; I was lucky to have a pre-made group already.