You want to host your own sandwich party? Awesome!

Here are some tips to make it a success:

#1 – Join the Facebook Group!

This connects you to the larger movement

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1077511925737885/

Key Ingredients to a Successful Sandwich Party

• Fun – We use the word ‘Party’ on purpose.
• Sustainability – No one should over-extend themselves by giving more time, money or energy than they can freely give. Staying within our means makes it so we can keep doing it and keep spreading it. More people get fed when we maintain sustainability.
• Community – Humans are built to live in community. Engage members of your community in your sandwich party. The more the merrier. Create community whenever possible. It’s good stuff. No one is above the community, no one is below the community. We’re all in it together. Sandwich parties are an opportunity to get to know each other whether you’re making sandwiches together or having a giving/receiving exchange.
• Love – It’s all about the love. No judgement. All love.

Preparation

It’s usually a good idea to create a Facebook event a couple weeks in advance. Once you have a rough idea of how many people will be coming you can come up with a goal for how many meals to make (when in doubt, call people and ask if they plan on coming).

The limiting factor when it comes to how many meals you can get away with making is often the amount of water you can transport. You’ll definitely want to secure some and trucks and/or dollies. If you don’t have any, these work great: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUUUIGK/

If transporting the water isn’t a problem then I generally like to keep it to somewhere between 10-20 sandwiches made per volunteer.

Fundraising

It’s a good idea to start raising funds around the time you post the Facebook event. So far we’ve done best with Facebook Fundraisers. Here’s where to go for info and to set one up:

https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers/

Come up with a good plan for how you want to spend the money

Meal Composition

Typically we make almost all PB&J with an alternative option for our friends with peanut allergies. We also like to include one snack (fruit, chips, etc.) and one sweet treat (cookie, brownie, candy, granola bar etc.). If someone wants to make notes to put in the sandwich bags – awesome!

Buying Food

Dollar stores are great. You can often get loaves of bread for $.99. Make sure you have all the food you need at least 24 hours in advance. And remember, sustainability is key, so be frugal.

When you’re making the Meals

Make sure you have a system in place so you can keep track of what’s in what bag.

Mark any bags that aren’t PB&J so you know what’s what.

Delegation

SPS should never feel like a chore or a burden. With that in mind, dependable, motivated people should be identified who can help make things run smoothly. This also gives more of an opportunity for leaders and future SPS hosts to emerge.

Photos & Video

Photos & Video are great because they help us spread the movement. The more photos of you having fun the better! Please tag us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sandwichpartysunday/) or share the photos with us any way you can.

Sometimes it’s also a good thing to get photos and videos with the people we serve. Use your judgment. If you do, it’s very important to establish rapport and then get permission. It’s also important that we never try and solicit any particular type of response from a person we’re serving. I prefer to ask them if there’s anything that they would like to say (to the world, the internet, anyone, etc.) and to give them the platform to communicate whatever they like.

The Frame

This isn’t handouts for the homeless. It’s a decision that we take care of each other in our communities. It shouldn’t be seen as ‘us / them’. It’s just ‘us’.

Things to Keep an Eye Out For

Sandwich parties are all inclusive. We’re not associated with any political group or religion. One of the most powerful elements of the movement is that it’s just regular people coming together to do this. It’s not a ‘group’. It’s anyone and everyone. If anyone talks about politics or religion in a way that contradicts this, please explain the frame to them.

There should be little tolerance for disruptive behavior in general. My general policy is 1 warning. After that they’re asked to leave.

Delivering Food / General Safety

Always use common sense. When delivering food, maintain strength in numbers. Whenever possible make sure there’s at least one person in each group who can kick some ass if necessary. Make sure groups know to stay together. Make sure groups know who they can call at any time when necessary.

Communication

Volunteers should know what’s happening and what to do at any given moment. Everyone should know who to call for whatever they need. Everyone should know what everyone’s responsibilities are. When in doubt, in-person or on the phone is the best way to communicate. The more people who have each other’s phone number the better.

If any of the top 3 aren’t able to make the sandwich party then they should communicate that on the Facebook event by changing their status to “not going” and should post a comment and the other top 2 should be informed by phone with as much advance notice as possible.

Names

Getting names is huge. Get each other’s names and the names of the people you serve. The more names we get, the more community we create.

Experimentation

I encourage you to try new things. No need to ask permission. Just use your best judgement and please share the results if you learned anything.

Be Part of the Movement!

Please join us and ask you volunteers to join us in the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1077511925737885/

Feedback

Feedback is critical to the success of Sandwich Party Sunday. Please let us know how things went, what worked or didn’t work, what surprises you encountered, what could have made it better, etc. etc. Sharing in the Facebook group is encouraged. That way everyone can learn and contribute.

When in Doubt:

call me at 323-989-3244.

Thank you!