Here's how it works: Four families agree that they will work together to provide meals for each other during the week. Each cook is assigned a week day (Monday through Thursday) in which she is responsible for cooking. Today was my day to cook this week. I made enough food to feed all four families, then I delivered them to each home. That means that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I did NOT cook supper! And on those days, a meal was delivered to my home.
This is the second week that we have been doing this, and I am sold on the idea. It has freed me from the large amounts of time I felt like I was spending in the kitchen. I have been able to give more attention to schooling. I have been able to be more flexible with my children and to add more fun activities to our day.
Here are a few tips for starting your own supper co-op:
1. Find friends to join you who have similar family size and similar preferences in food.
2. It is important that everyone in the coop live in close vicinity to each other. Spending a lot of time delivering food adds stress and takes up a lot of your time.
3. Have a meeting of all the cooks and plan a menu for a whole month. Make sure the meeting is a low stress event. If at all possible, meet where children are not present. Our next meeting will be at our local coffee shop. We will accomplish our goal in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere.
4. Use this meeting to discuss the likes and dislikes of each family as well as the menu choices for the month. Make menu assignments and determine who will be cooking on which days.
5. Determine delivery times. This will vary based on the time of year and the activities in which each family is involved.
6. Be flexible. Life happens and people have activities in their lives which will make flexibility in scheduling essential. One of our co-op families is traveling this week, so we agreed to freeze the one meal they missed. They can relax knowing that when they return from their trip, there is a meal waiting for them.
7. Be willing to be honest. If your family doesn't particularly like a certain menu selection, don't hesitate to kindly let the co-op cooks know.
8. Don't wear your feelings on your sleeve. Everyone has different taste. If other families don't prefer a dish you made, it's not an attack on your cooking.
9. Choose menus that are not too time intensive to prepare. The idea of a supper co-op is to make life easier. Don't get carried away!
10. Budget your meals. Your group may want to agree on a weekly budget per family. Don't let this time-saving idea stress your budget.
11. If you have left-overs, serve them for lunch the following day or freeze them for future weekend meals.
12. Have fun making friends with co-op members!
13. Enjoy the extra time with your family or on your favorite projects!
Curious about what we are cooking? See our menu plan for February.
As for what I prepared today: Southwest Lasagna, yellow rice, lettuce salad, and Valentine brownies.
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