Feeding a large amount of people

[pawla68]

I am helping a friend plan a benefit auction. We want to have some food for guest to eat, but don't have a lot of money to spend. What are some suggestions for foods that are quick, easy, and low cost? We have already thought of a big crockpot of BBQ pulled pork. Other suggestions please!


TIA

Paula

 

[Kellydelly]

Pasta, salad, and bread. Easy, cheap, and most people like it .

 

[charming23]

Spaghetti with meat sauce is a good item for a large crowd. Another idea is a big pot of chili with different toppings like cheese, chips, onions, etc

 

[Que_Sarah_Sarah]

When we did church potlucks we would often go to SAMS club and get those large bags of frozen meatballs, a can of sauce, and throw those in a crockpot. No pasta or bread needed

We also sometimes got a big can of nacho cheese and several bags of taco chips.

 

[pixiewings71]

I'm going to a spaghetti feed fundraiser for a friend who has cancer. They are charging $25 per person and they will make a hefty profit!

 

[MickeyManiac]

I just did my last fundraiser banquet for my son's HS Baseball program. We had 450 people. This was the third year we've done this banquet.

The first year we went to local businesses and got potato salad, buns and chips donated then I bought chopped BBQ pork from a local restaurant.

Second year, we bought pans of lasagna and breadsticks from a local food service company (Sysco) they sell to restaurants. We bought big bags of salad and dressings at Sams Club

Third year(this past Saturday) We purchased frozen chicken enchiladas, sauce and tortilla chips (again from Sysco) We got different types of salsa donated and did a "Salsa Bar". We did churros with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup for dessert.

We charge $15 per person but the boys are given $10 credit toward their fees so we have to make sure our dinner costs us less than $5 p/p. This year we came in around $3.

Good Luck to you. These banquets are A LOT of work but I'm already sad that DS is senior and I won't be doing them anymore.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

I have helped with many a fundraiser and I have another in the works. Spaghetti with meatballs (just in case some don't like meat...meatballs are large enough to pick out), bread, salad. It's easy and cheap plus a lot of people can help donate. Keep it simple. As long as it tastes good, most people know it's a benefit not a 5 star dinner.

 

[cornflake]

I have helped with many a fundraiser and I have another in the works. Spaghetti with meatballs (just in case some don't like meat...meatballs are large enough to pick out), bread, salad. It's easy and cheap plus a lot of people can help donate. Keep it simple. As long as it tastes good, most people know it's a benefit not a 5 star dinner.

Not for nothing, but as someone who doesn't eat meat, I'd never take something like spaghetti and meatballs and pick out the meatballs.

They're in there, in the sauce, that's just beyond gross. I mean if someone is cutting back on red meat to eat less fat or whatever, sure - but I don't know any vegetarians would do that.

If they were cooked and held separately, in a separate pan, that's one thing, but not in the same dish.

I don't run into this type of thing much, but the one fundraising dinner I have seen was entirely meat-based like the ones here, so I didn't bother. I dunno if it's worth it to lure vegetarians, I suppose it depends on the area and how many there are, but doing most of the dishes listed here does cut out a group of potential donors - and plain spaghetti marinara is cheaper.

 

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Not for nothing, but as someone who doesn't eat meat, I'd never take something like spaghetti and meatballs and pick out the meatballs.

They're in there, in the sauce, that's just beyond gross. I mean if someone is cutting back on red meat to eat less fat or whatever, sure - but I don't know any vegetarians would do that.

If they were cooked and held separately, in a separate pan, that's one thing, but not in the same dish.

I don't run into this type of thing much, but the one fundraising dinner I have seen was entirely meat-based like the ones here, so I didn't bother. I dunno if it's worth it to lure vegetarians, I suppose it depends on the area and how many there are, but doing most of the dishes listed here does cut out a group of potential donors - and plain spaghetti marinara is cheaper.

I wasn't thinking of vegetarians. When I lived in California 2 separate sauces was a no-brainer. Now that I live in Montana things are a bit different. I was mostly thinking of the kids (since many of my fundraisers include kids) who might not like them.

 

[luvmy3]

Any benefit meal I have ever been to, was either a pancake breakfast, or spaghetti dinner. I don't think you can get much cheaper than those things.

 

[trinchick]

Not for fundraisers but large family gatherings (and we have a huge family!), we buy frozen stuffed shells at BJs. Add jarred sauce, simple garden salad and some Italian bread and everyone is happy. We don't add any meat at all and people are always plenty satisfied.

At BJs the shells come 30 to a bag for about $7 a bag. We figure 2-3 shells per person, so it's very economical.

 

[lady9]

We did a salad and baked potato bar. Potatoes are very cheap. We did different toppings such as broccoli, cheese, salsa, chili, bacon, sour cream and such. We charged $6, cost per person was a little over $2.00. We had the desserts donated.

 

[pixiewings71]

Not for nothing, but as someone who doesn't eat meat, I'd never take something like spaghetti and meatballs and pick out the meatballs.

They're in there, in the sauce, that's just beyond gross. I mean if someone is cutting back on red meat to eat less fat or whatever, sure - but I don't know any vegetarians would do that.

If they were cooked and held separately, in a separate pan, that's one thing, but not in the same dish.

I don't run into this type of thing much, but the one fundraising dinner I have seen was entirely meat-based like the ones here, so I didn't bother. I dunno if it's worth it to lure vegetarians, I suppose it depends on the area and how many there are, but doing most of the dishes listed here does cut out a group of potential donors - and plain spaghetti marinara is cheaper.

I prefer my pasta sauce marinara style......I didn't even think of saying that. Our HS marching band does a Crab Feed (coming up soon!!) and they serve spaghetti, with marinara sauce. I'm not a fan of meat sauce or meatballs but I wouldn't have any problems picking it out because I'm not a vegetarian, good catch!

 

[momxx5]

I would plan meal around pulled pork......offering buns, slaw, huspuppies....with sides of pasta salad, baked beans, mac & cheese, chef salad, fruit salad.....chips/salsa, deviled eggs, corn bread mini muffins, lots of small desserts.
Serve tea (sweat and unsweetened), lemonade and water.

We have a family that does all our bbq....they have huge cooker and its always fresh.

Good luck.