Bringing along Food for Fundraisers is a daunting task as there are so many mouths to feed! You can bring your own food to the hall, use the caterer at the hall, or find your own caterer. Nobody expects you to make everything, so do not be afraid to ask people to help prepare the food and have a sort of pot luck. Lots of people may offer you help but not know how to help. Ask them to bring an appetizer or even better – give them a few options to choose from.
Some great party food suggestions are: pizza, cracker and cheese trays, deli sandwiches (although these can be a lot of work and money), vegetable trays, fruit trays, potato salad, etc. Try to get foods that you can prepare before hand; do not have to be heated up when you get there; and that are easy for cleanup too. Use disposable containers or foil pans as you have zero clean up when done! Bring lots of tupperware so that you can make some take-home meals for people who could use it, assuming you have lots of food left at the end of the night. You might even want to consider Roma Pizza, as you do not have to worry about ordering hot pizza to be delivered at a certain time, and this pizza is amazing! Just pick it up from their Barton Street location in Hamilton the day of.
We see a big trend in pig roasts and pulled pork – we are confused by this. That is expensive! Your guests will be just as happy to have some cheaper options that don’t include meat which will cost you an arm and a leg. Plus with all the vegans and vegetarians taking over the world, you don’t want to neglect their needs. 🙂
Whatever you do, do not appear “chintzy.” The days of chips, cheesies, and pop won’t cut it on their own! Buy several different munchies that you can put around on the tables, as you may not serve dinner/snacks for a couple of hours, and you want to keep your guests happy while they are there. Encourage people to stay by having a good variety of foods. We are huge fans of Costco’s Chicago Mix – a huge crowd pleaser and it will make them thirsty too.
Remember to also bring along enough plates, bowls, forks, spoons, knives, paper towels, napkins, etc. Sometimes people try to just serve finger foods so they don’t need any utensils. Many people forget about these small things until the week of – just keep your eyes open for sales and stock up! You can always return what you don’t open so hang onto the receipts.
Designate 1-2 people to be in charge of clearing the used plates and cutlery throughout the night to cut down on the time needed at the end of the night for cleanup. Designate someone else to refill chip bowls, and have several helpers in the kitchen to look after the food.
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