Some Menu's from last week

Breakfasts ~ 
2 mornings ~ scrambled eggs, pancakes/syrup, sausage, grits/oatmeal, fruit, drinks
2 mornings~ scrambled eggs, biscuits, sausage gravy, fried ham or sausage patties, grits/oatmeal, fruit, drinks
other morning ~ scrambled eggs, fried grits, sausage or bacon, grits/oatmeal, fruit, drinks

The fruit was usually Apples or Bananas.  Drinks were milk, chocolate milk, oj, coffee, and soft drinks.  There were also bagels/cream cheese, and breakfast bars available. 

Lunches ~
sandwich fixins' ~ breads, mayo, mustard, lunch meats, cheeses
+ with the donation of food stuff from the host church we added ~ baked trout (oh my goodness, yummy), large fresh salad, tortellini & tomato sauce, Gregs special concoction of au gratin potatoes with ground beef, Mexican lasagna (leftovers from Mexican night), dirty rice with sausage
Desserts ~ cookies, brownies, banana pudding, etc.

Dinners ~
*Sunday night was: Baked Ham, Sweet Potato Casserole, Peas, rolls, salad & desserts
*Monday night was: Barbeque chicken, baked beans, corn on the cob, salad, buns to make a barbeque sandwich, salad & desserts
*Tuesday night: Roasted Pork Loin, green beans & potatoes, salad, raw vegies, rolls, & desserts
*Wed night: Mexican ~ chicken/cheese enchiladas, build your own tostadas with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheeses, chips & salsa, raw vegies/dip, desserts

We used our leftovers ~ Sunday nights leftover baked ham was cut up and used for the fried ham at breakfast, leftover sausage was used in the dirty rice, the leftovers from Mexican night were all layered like a lasagna into a turkey roaster pan and reheated for lunch on Thursday as Mexican lasagna (the dish was pretty well wiped clean).

There was always coolers available with water bottles, soft drinks, drink kegs of tea, koolaid, and Gatorade.  Snacks were available all the time at the church ~ chips, vegies, fruit, cookies, etc.

We usually set a limit on the ## of pieces you can get going through the line the first time....2 pancakes, 2 sausage patties, 2 enchiladas, etc.  This insures the folks at the back of the line get to eat also....not just the teens at the front of the line!  After everyone goes through the line ~ we open it up for 2nds or 3rds.  Then any leftovers, get turned into something new.

Our sample daily schedule was:
Wake at 6
In kitchen by 6:30
Breakfast at 7:30
devotions
Clean up ~ leave church at 8:20 or so
Make a grocery/walmart run for drinks, ice, etc.
To the other church by around 10
Start fixing lunch to serve at 12:30 (everything is served buffet style)
Clean up
Start working on dinner to serve at 4:30
Cleanup
Relax for a few minutes and wait to get our ride back to the other* church for the night...around 8:30.

The rest of the team did Backyard Bible Clubs in 2 parks ~ they fed the kids sandwiches, chips, cookies, and water/koolaid.  This was from 10-noon everyday.
They also did Block Parties (bashes) everynight.  6-8 (that's why we served dinner at 4:30)  at the bash ~ they grilled hamburgers/hotdogs, had water/koolaid, cotton candy & popcorn.
This was a very low income area and the decision was made for food to be served instead of just a cookie/koolaid snack ~ then some of the kids took the leftovers home. Many parents came to both sessions and followed the team around for the morning kids clubs & evening bashes.

Our team was hosted by 2 churches!
One church we slept at and had breakfast at. *This was the church trying to establish another congregation in Albion.  The Pastor is from the Seneca Reservation, he has one church on the reservation and the other at the church we resided at. 

Then we traveled to the other church (about 30 miles away) that let us use their commercial kitchen all day (what a blessing & treat!)

**We had 2 kitchens to set up and this stretched us a bit.  But the church we spent the day at, had everything we needed and let us use whatever we wanted so next year will be easier to set up.

We do have a per person food budget for the week.  Shopping at warehouse stores, a restaurant supply store and Walmart help keep the food costs in check ~ plus reusing our leftovers.  We were also blessed with a large bread supply from our host church, and "charity" food for our team from the other church.  The Albion church gets a shipment of 800 pounds of food every Monday and Friday (food almost out of date, dented cans, etc) to give out.  They invited our team to go through the boxes and take out what we could use.  The families that came to help unpack the truck, then divided up all the rest of the food & left with lots per family.  With our food, we were able to supplement our lunches, add some desserts, and fill 2 requests for food from folks who came to the door asking.  On Fridays the church has a soup kitchen and regularly feed over 300 folks ~ these folks are able to take home the food from the shipment on Fridays.