Busy mom and author, Trish Berg shares advice on how to save time and money by starting a supper swap with friends.
By Trish Berg, Dalton, Ohio
Mom and author Trish Berg formed a cooking co-op super swap with friends to stretch their families food budgets. Here are her top tips on how to throw a supper swap in your community.
- Start with who you know. Ask a friend, neighbor or coworker to try supper swapping for a month. After the trial period, see how the group is working.
- Plan 3-month menus. Put together a meal schedule in advance and prepare a menu calendar with a copy for each family to post.
- Go with family favorites. Begin by making tried-and-true dishes your own clan enjoys. Slowly work in new recipes.
- Adapt delivery times. Each group member can deliver at a time that works best for her. Same-evening deliveries should have food cooked and ready to eat. Advance deliveries can be uncooked with baking instructions attached.
- Avoid pan-demonium. Use durable baking dishes and rotate them through the group. Don’t expect to get the same containers back every time.
- Honesty tastes best. Be up-front about your family’s food likes, dislikes and allergies.
- Be flexible. If you can’t cook on your designated date, try trading with another group member. If it’s too late, you can always have pizzas delivered!
- Accept change. Supper swap groups will likely have members come and go. Ask participants to give a month’s notice before they leave.
