The first time this activity is initiated, regardless of grade level, the
teacher should suggest a menu that school facilities, teachers, and parental
resources can support. The menu discussed includes sloppy-joe sandwiches, gelatin, chips, a brownie, and fruit beverage.
Consider the student committees and their various responsibilities. Make a committee list to give to each student. Seven committees are suggested, one for
each of the foods to be prepared, as well as a settings committee (responsible for serving-table layout, place settings, and paper products), and a money committee responsible for food orders, collecting money, and keeping all financial
records.
Select several possible dates for the lunch so students can select the exact day that will work best for all.
Schedule the various activities. Some foods can be made in advance and frozen. Include the removal-from-freezer dates and time, as well as reporting dates for committee decisions regarding pricing foods and paper goods.
Preparing for the Event
Initial discussion with the class should include duties of each committee. All committees (except the money committee) should be responsible for comparative shopping and calculating an appropriate per-serving cost of items for which they're responsible.
Determine which students will work on which committees, assign activity-report dates, list utensils and equipment to be borrowed from parents, and ask for adult assistance when needed.
The teacher should make certain that all recipes, utensils, facilities, and serving means will be available as needed, possibly with some adult assistance.
Determine whether the comparison-shopping and follow-up approximations for food and serving costs are appropriate. Food committees should give their reports, indicating the size of the servings. Menus can be distributed along with
ordering slips. Teachers may wish to limit the number of servings of chips and brownies ordered by a student. Give a date for submitting paid orders. Let the money committee be responsible for collecting and checking accuracy of all
orders.
The money committee should indicate the total number of each menu item ordered and the amount of money available to each committee to cover purchases. Make decisions regarding purchase of food and paper goods. Decide on the cost of
each menu item and complete the menu on the Lunch‑In Affair activity sheet.
Students take orders using the order form then tally the orders to determine how much food should be ordered. Money is collected and the food is purchased.
Lunch-In Day
Almost all of the work has been completed by now. The committee chairpersons should assist the teacher in seeing that all activities are carried out as planned. This time should be used by the teacher to note changes that should be made to improve the project.
