Common meals are one of the key defining elements of a cohousing community, and "breaking bread" and cooking together is a wonderful way to share our lives and stay in touch with each other as friends and neighbors. Everyone in the community is welcome and encouraged to participate in meals, both as a consumer and preparer, as they are able. Some of us attend almost every meal and cook regularly; a few of us attend only one or two meals per year; most of us are somewhere in between. There is a Meals Circle (See whiteboard in mailroom for current members) that thinks about what's working or not working in the current meals arrangements, suggests new approaches, oversees kitchen organization and supplies, and takes care of the accounting for the cost of the meals.
We currently have one common meals (most weeks): a takeout pizza and potluck combination on Mondays, or a home-cooked meal on Wednesday/ Thursday evening, or sometime over the weekend – Saturday or Sunday breakfast or dinner. During the summer months, this schedule tends to fall off a bit and we tend to have more potluck or picnic/BBQ /BYO meals.
Pizza/potluck meals began as a simple way for us all to eat together even when we were too busy moving in to organize and cook common meals – now we enjoy them too much to stop. If you bring a potluck contribution, you can eat for free (actually, we do charge 50 cents to cover incidentals). The definition of a potluck contribution is six servings for each person who is credited with a contribution.
Otherwise, the cost is $6.50 per person, which covers the cost of the takeout pizza. For home-cooked meals, we ask the meal team to keep the cost to $6 or less, per person, unless it's a special meal that's been advertised as likely to cost more.
We also ask every meal team to accommodate food restrictions (e.g. vegetarian, allergies to dairy or wheat or tomatoes) from those who have signed up for the meal in advance, by providing some variation on the main menu if it's needed.
Meal Sign-up
Meal sign-ups are done on CCM. The Leader of the Cook Team opens the meal on CCM and notifies the community to sign up by email or white board or Lobby Poster. Advertising of your meal encourages participation, so send invitations by email or by a note on the white board. Sign up for as many meals as you will be eating, approximating children's participation as either 1,.5 or 0 meals, as you think is appropriate. Include any guests that will come with you, and note any particular requests or food restrictions that the meal team should know about. Cancellations after the sign-up deadline are generally not permitted, because the meal team has already bought or even cooked a sufficient quantity of food and we usually don't have any way to use up leftovers. (See if you can arrange to have your portions set aside for you for later pick-up.) Late sign-ups are often possible - when the regular sign-up deadline has passed, the meals team will usually tack up the sign-up sheet and will create lines for as many late signups as can be accommodated. If there's a surge in last minute sign-ups, and you want to cancel, it works out nicely. Check with the cooks (unless they're looking really harried!).
Every six months, the billing team goes through the meal sign-up sheets and divides up the costs for each meal among the folks who came and ate. Then a "bill" is sent to each household, showing their share of the costs of the common meals they ate, how much they spent on common meals they helped to prepare, and whether they now owe some money to the community meal fund or are due a refund from the community meal fund. (if you wish to be reimbursed by check indicate that on the back of the meals receipt - along with food receipts and Marianne will write the check. Leave the meals sheet in her Mail Cubby. The community meal fund is maintained in a separate account from the regular association funds. The records for all the meal accounting are kept by the Dan. If you think there's a mistake, point it out to Dan, who will try to resolve it.
Meal planning is structured in 6-8 week cycles, organized loosely around the seasons and major holidays. Near the end of each cycle, a new chart for the following meal cycle is posted in the common house lobby for several weeks. Everyone who leads a common meal signs up for one work slot, during a given cycle. Everyone who dines is expected to sign up to help with two work slots in each 6 to 8 week cycle. There is no formal monitoring of this expectation. We trust each other to contribute more when we have the time and energy and recognize that sometimes it's not possible to participate at that level. We still want to encourage you to dine. However, the meals circle is considering a process to track participation and post it in the pantry, to help diners in taking responsibiity for helping with the work.
The meal chart usually has blocks for three meals every week: pizza/potluck on Mon, a home-cooked meal on Weds/Thurs and another on Sat/Sun. There are four cooking slots and three clean up slots for home-cooked meals; and three slots for organizing and cleaning up after the pizza/potluck meals. The first person to sign up as a "leader" in a given block usually gets to choose the exact date, time and menu for that block, so if you have a favorite menu you're dying to show off, this is your chance! Once the slots are more or less full, the poster is relocated to the pantry. If a meal doesn't have all of the work slots filled in, one of three things happens: 1) the leaders write a note on the whiteboard and ask for extra helpers and go on with the meal; 2) the leaders decide to cancel that meal (and write that on the whiteboard and put a big X through the sign-up sheet in the pantry and cancel it on CCM); or 3) The team leader can offer to facilitate a potluck for that night. (signing up to help can be done on CCM or on the poster)
Meal teams are completely self-organizing. Usually the leader checks in with the other team members a few days in advance to finalize the menu, figure out who will shop and when to do the actual cooking. Many meal teams split up the effort over a few days and times to accommodate different schedules and reduce last minute frenzy. There is a detailed meal preparation checklist posted in the kitchen to help teams remember every step that goes into a successful common meal. Cleaning teams generally drift into the kitchen near the end of the meal and figure out who will do which tasks as they go along.
Pizza/potluck teams order pizza, organize potluck contributions, and clean up after the meal. To help this process go smoothly, the pizza coordinator posted a set of guidelines in the pantry. (please note your potluck contribution should be for at least 6ty people)
When the meal is over, someone on the team should attach the food receipts to the sign-up sheet, note who spent how much on the back of the sheet, and put it in the appropriate mailbox as noted on the sign-up sheet. (Marianne for checks and Dan for credits). When the next meal accounting takes place, any purchases you made for common meals are credited towards your share of common meals expenses. If you need a speedy reimbursement for food that you bought, check the "reimburse" box and Marianne will write you a check from the meals account.
(Carol Kunik March 2019)
Pizza Potluck (instructions for new leaders)
(please note - the new table cloths will stain with tomato sauce - so please replace with the old red ones for a Pizza Meal)
We’ve been ordering from Mike's in Davis Square: (617) 628-2379 but you can order from any pizza place you like. The catch being that the fancier ones like Otto charge more so gage it by the prices at Mike’s and try to be in that ballpark. I have, on occassion, splurged for a fancier kind, ordered a bit less and it seemed to work out.
We calculate 3 people per pizza. I think the algorithm for figuring out how much you'll have to spend is to add up all the people signed up on the Pizza side (versus the potluck one) and times that by
$6.50. That will give you your total funds. For delivery we usually give a tip, so factor that in. You can have them put the charge on your credit card or pay cash when the driver delivers. Then you should print out the pizza/potluck sheet from CCM, write the info regarding cost, let the Marianne know if you want to be reimbursed or have the total added to your coho credit and get a receipt from the driver which you attach to the sheet. Then put it in the meals box in the mailroom.
I usually check birthdays. CCM and the pantry have a list. We’ve had a long tradition of celebrating people’s bday’s at this event but obviously only if the person will be there. Usually they’ll supply their own cake, pie or other favorite dessert but we have, also, gotten one for someone when they can’t. I’ve either made that my contribution or tried to budget for it and get a bit less pizza…but mostly people have brought something sweet to share,
I tell the pizza place we want it by six. I’d rather have it be a bit late but hot.
Be sure the place knows it's Cambridge as there’s a Richdale Ave in Somerville too. Tell them to come to the glass doors off the patio. They may or may not remember this so keep an eye and ear out for them.
We put out water pitchers before hand. Afterward, we wipe down the tables, break down the pizza boxes for recycling. Don’t worry about the oil or food particles. Norma assures us this is okay. Take the recycling down to the basement room which is often lacking in the barrels as they won’t have come in yet. If this is the case, leave the baskets there and come back the next day to bring them upstairs. Often some kind soul, has already done this!
Take the trash to the East End or West End trash enclosure, wash any serving plates, utensils or other dishes used. Take the compost out and replace the bag with a clean one.
We don’t have to vacuum as the cleaners come on Tuesday morning so I just make sure any large bits are cleaned up and the doors are locked and the lights out.
I really hope someone else is able to work with you on this. The clean-up is much nicer with two. (Julie 2017)
Hygiene and Safety in the Kitchen
When the cook teams are working in the kitchen (before and during the meal), non-cooks should refrain from entering the kitchen for any reason unless they have asked permission from the cooks. This is a safety precaution since sharp knives, and hot food and pans are being used and moved around.
Good hygiene in the kitchen includes the following:
Cover hair with scarf or cap.
Use latex gloves when handling food if you have any cuts in your hands.
Wear non-slip shoes that cover your toes.
Use a clean spoon each time you taste something.
Wipe counters and cutting boards with clean wipe-up cloths (NOT SPONGES).
Some cutting boards have labels such as NO MEAT; please abide by the label.
(Susan Sternfeld 2005)