r/Chefit • u/JamesBonzo • 2d ago
Hosting a free thanksgiving dinner. How to?
I’m the chef of a 40 seat restaurant. I would really like to close the restaurant/suspend normal operations on thanksgiving and host a free thanksgiving meal for those experiencing housing or food insecurity. I would want to do this family style and put tables together for this dinner.
The meal would be free but we would accept donations.
Is this possible.
How would this work logistically with vetting getting people/families who are actually in need.
Is it legal?
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u/AdDramatic5591 2d ago
You will probably want to partner with a local org who does this kind of work and let them handle the non restaurant part of this/ It would free you to do what you do best and provide the venue and the food etc. and collect the appreciation of the patrons. It is a lovely thing and I commend your intentions but folks in those situations get seen on thanksgivings and christmas but not so much the rest of the year. If you want to maximize the value of your actions, use this as a chance to build relationships with those orgs and people and find maybe some other simpler ways to help during the rest of the year. I used to work with the unhoused and holidays were great but the middle of january in a cold place was a much more dire time for folks and very little was coming in. Either way hope you have agreat one and can make this work.
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u/Rudelikeone 2d ago
Give local Churches or Rest Homes tickets to your private dinning experience maybe?
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u/SVAuspicious 1d ago
Businesses do this sort of thing at Thanksgiving and Christmas and even Easter all the time. Talk to your local food kitchens and they'll talk about the same thing. My favorite. How about sometime in late January or February? Talk to food kitchens and churches and find the gaps to fill. Long term program to add something on your menu just like "buy a beer for the kitchen" can be "contribute to feed a homeless person." February ("send some love to the homeless on Valentines Day") and September ("workers for the homeless" or something).
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u/420blazer247 2d ago
I'd recommend if you end up doing it, can't really turn people down, unless you want to tell someone they aren't struggling enough. As another has said, hit up the food banks or churches
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u/metafoodxaiscanner 1d ago
Disclosure: this is the Metafoodx company account. On the production-planning side, start by distinguishing seats from total meals: a 40-seat room could serve one sitting or several, and that changes purchasing and prep.
Agree on an expected headcount with your community partner, plan portions by menu item, and assign someone to track attendance and replenishment during service. Record prepared quantities and unserved leftovers afterward so the next event starts with a useful baseline.
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u/TheKingfisherTucson 19h ago
I did this last year, 120 seat spot. Put it out on your local subreddit, Facebook (ugh), Instagram. We didn’t have a vetting system, just said, if you are in need of a meal, come get one. No one took advantage and I’m not in a position to judge who does and does not need a meal based on looks or anything else. I asked my suppliers to donate some stuff, they said yes. I asked community members to volunteer their time to cook, and serve, we had more volunteer offers than diners (300 people came to eat). People gave time, money, expertise, they took leftovers and distributed them to folks in need who couldn’t travel. Be prepared to do some to go plates. Some people are not comfortable dining in, because of stigma, or whatever it may be. Best of luck to you, thanks for being a wonderful person. The world needs more. And on the legality of it, fuck it… ask forgiveness not permission, if required. Good on you, chef. ✊🏻❤️
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u/bepsigir Chef 2d ago
Not sure on your actual question, but I would suggest: Reach out to local shelters/organizations.
I came here to suggest asking your vendors for donations. Let them know what you are doing and see if they can donate anything to your meal. Also, if you put up signage about donating to the event/gifting a meal you may be able to get a little more funding that way and make a bigger impact.