NR - Soup Kitchen

[Aunt Dwen]

----- Original Message -----
From: CecilJevon blabla <ceciljevon at bla-bla.com>
To: <northern at ansteorra.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2000 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: NR - Soup Kitchen


> Hi, this is Jevon in Wiesenfeuer.  I thought it was pretty
> cool. It would be great to do something like that here. We
> wouldn't necessarily have to go all out unless we wanted to,
> but I thought it had some good ideas. It would be a fun way
> for people to interact and would add to the event.


Greetings, Jevon, Ceridwen here.  Nice to see you on the list.

    I really liked the article, and as I mentioned before we do something
like that every year at the War of the Lilies in Calontir.  In my opinion, a
"soup kitchen" or communal refreshments/food area for a group is a fine
thing for war.  For weekend events there is a much more diverse set of needs
than for the larger wars.  I think the addition of oranges and pickles
(which I believe Northkeep has done on occasion) to the drinkables in the
water bearing area are nice and could be done easily.  After all it's only a
few dollars for one of those big sacks of oranges.  However, much more than
some fruit and you start competing with taverns and feast-like stuff that
the local group may be sponsoring.  Also, most folks come fully prepared for
the weekend with their own food, feast tokens, or plans to only day-trip and
eat off site.

    Wars, on the other hand, are a very different thing.  Our experience
with Lilies War, which lasts 10 days, is that it's really hard to pack
enough for the whole time.  We took the original soup kitchen idea then
expanded it to include a night meal.  We kept the simple sandwich idea for
lunch which was available anytime, and had simple breakfast food (fruit,
danish/muffins, cereal) available in the mornings.  Anyone who wanted to
help with kitchening (which included clean up, prep, and going into town to
get stuff) was welcome.  The fighters and others whose duties/interests at
the war kept them out of the camp for large parts of the day were happy to
haul water or unload the vehicle when we returned from shopping.  Our
kitchening allowed folks to spend all day at the lists--whether fighting or
waterbearing or listmistressing or whatever--without worrying about
where/when they might get their next meal.

    Now, much of this was easy to do and the time issue wasn't a problem
because our good friends in Calontir run on time.  Yeah, I mean really On
Time, not SCA-standard time (which can be anywhere from an hour to three
later than originally intended).  This meant that we knew when the battles
would be fought and when they'd be over.  We also got pretty good a choosing
stuff for the evening meal which can be served over the course of an hour or
so (e.g.. shredded bar-b-que which can be kept hot with a warming fire).  We
didn't worry a lot about "period food."  We'll save that for a feast or A&S
competition.  Our goal was to feed lots of folks fast.  We asked that folks
who wanted to eat the night meals kick in money.  We were able to keep the
cost down to at or below $5.00 per person per day for three meals.  I think
at our height we fed approximately 40 people per day.

    I read in the article where the author was at a loss for why they did
the soup kitchen.  I can only respond for myself:  I am not a fighter and my
A&S is minimal at best.  This is a service which I enjoy coordinating and
providing.  Like sitting troll booth, it allows you to get to see everyone
eventually.  It is also a wonderful way to get to really know folks from out
of your area.  This past Lilies His Majesty Drake and His Highness Timotheos
made good use of the kitchen, along with a large number of other folk from
regions other than the north (central and southern, I'm thinking, but I
don't want to leave anyone out).  Their participation, along with Duchess
Larissa and Sir Duncan, allowed a number of folks who had "brass phobia" to
have more immediate contact with the royalty and nobility.  The feedback I
got from one of the ladies who participated was that she wasn't as "afraid"
of the brass as before.  We were also able to extend hospitality to folks
who wandered by (you know, it's that Celtic/Norse thing about hospitality
and never knowing when Odin might be visiting disguised).  The generosity of
our Kingdom was often demonstrated.  There are a number of secondary gains,
besides the actual feeding and watering of folk that you garner in a war
kitchen.

    Anyone with other ideas, or who might want more information about how
this has worked in the past, please feel free...


Dwen

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