Anonymous wrote:I buy turkeys in bull (preferably after thanksgiving) and keep them in my deep freezer for my kids team dinners. I usually host one or two a year with the entire team and their families which is usually around 75. I make the turkeys the day before in my roasters, shred the meat and make one bbq and one more savory. Put back in roasters and they keep great overnight. I serve them with Hawaiian rolls, onion rolls and pretzel rolls. Various cheeses. Pasta salads and corn on the cob were my cheap sides this year. Add some salads and fruit trays and it’s really a very very low per person cost meal.

This sounds delish + also great planning. What do you do for a living-- this sounds so smart/strategic (better than chili or lasagna that people tend to fall back on.

I find pulled pork sandwiches to be really easy and fairly inexpensive. I can feed 100 people for just over $100.

I buy turkeys in bull (preferably after thanksgiving) and keep them in my deep freezer for my kids team dinners. I usually host one or two a year with the entire team and their families which is usually around 75. I make the turkeys the day before in my roasters, shred the meat and make one bbq and one more savory. Put back in roasters and they keep great overnight. I serve them with Hawaiian rolls, onion rolls and pretzel rolls. Various cheeses. Pasta salads and corn on the cob were my cheap sides this year. Add some salads and fruit trays and it’s really a very very low per person cost meal.

Little Caesar’s $5 Hot & Ready

Any meal where you can stretch the protein source.

Baked potatoes with chili for example. Or pasta with meat sauce. Stews with beans and other hearty ingredients to fill it up.

Foods that are good for a large group of teens - like pizza - may not be good for groups of housing insecure people. With teens, it’s ok to give them unhealthy for sometimes with the assumption that most of their meals are home cooked and not pizza.

For housing insecure and food insecure people I would be more mindful of sodium and try to include vegetables and protein. Depending on the population, I would also be mindful of whether the population is prone to dental issues. I once volunteered in a location where the population included active and former meth users. We needed to make sure food was soft enough for them to eat. Pizza crust, whole apples, and even most granola bars were not possible for many clients.

Keep food safety in mind, both with the amount of prep time that’ll be needed when making large quantities and how long the food can be safely left out while you’re distributing the meals. Have enough refrigerator space, ice and coolers and/or the means to keep hot food hot and at the proper temperature. Make sure you have enough help with both preparation and distribution.