How much to feed for family reunion?

[akafred]

Ok so my family reunion is coming up Labor Day Weekend. I was in charge of planning it. It will be at a state park pavilion (actually 2 because I rented both halves of the pavilion - they rent separately). It starts around 11 am and is pot luck. I live in TN and it is usually still pretty hot.

How much food do I need to bring? I would guess around 50 people of all ages will come if the weather is nice. I was thinking about picking up one or two pasta dishes from an Italian market that does catering (if I can keep it warm). The large serves 20 people and the small serves 12. But of course this isn't the only food; everyone will be bringing food from main dishes to sides and dessert. WDYT?

[leahcar]

I'd just make/buy 1 large dish if everyone else is bringing things too. My family always has soooo much food.

[frozenpeas]

Is everyone signing up to bring something or at least telling you what/how much they'll bring? If not, I would make sure I supplied enough for everyone, plus a bit more. If others confirmed what they're bringing I'd adjust based on how much food and what variety it looks like you'll have.

[supertrooper1]

Depends if your family is good at potlucking or not. My family is amazing. Every family potluck, there is always a ton of food. DH's family? Not so much. So if your family is good at bring food to a potluck, I would just make/bring one dish, especially since you were in charge of renting the pavilion.

ETA: What about plates, utensils, etc.  My family is BYO, but maybe instead of lots of food, you bring the plates?   

[akafred]

No, we aren't doing a sign up. However, we do have a FB page in case people want to talk about it, and we used to have annual reunions and they have always been potluck, and they were always fine. Way too much food. So I'm not planning to feed everyone. Plus I have already paid for both the pavilions out of my own pocket and will be bringing plates, plastic ware, and drinks. I am not going to go broke.

[frozenpeas]

Yeah, I was just responding with what I would do. If I'm planning it, I think the guests would expect I would either coordinate to make sure there was enough food or supply a main course (essentially "host" it). Of course, my family would just proactively tell me what they're bringing, and it would be more than enough.

It sounds from your second post that you already expect there to be enough food, so bring as much as you want, or bring nothing and make the rental your contribution.

[akafred]

frozenpeas, I do appreciate the suggestion, it just isn't practical. If this works I will most likely have to "host" every year. I also don't want to set a precedent of "Fred buys all the food and pays for everything."

[mommyatty]

How about on the FB page you post and ask everyone to comment w what they are bringing? Then you can comment you are bringing pasta so they don't show up thinking you are bringing all the main courses.

[mommyatty]

Oh and I would do 2 larges of pasta.

[supertrooper1]

If someone rented a pavilion in my family, there would be a coffee can near the food that people could chip in to help reimburse whoever prepaid for it.

[sudokufan]

I'd get the pasta salad you're thinking of and call it good. Since you have a FB page setup, you could create a FB doc that people can edit. We do a Google Spreadsheet at work for our potlucks - we can't get people to commit to a specific item (because we're super competitive and research recipes a month in advance), but they'll put their names under general categories so we know how many mains/sides/desserts to expect, and don't end up with everyone bringing pop.

[erinshelley21]

Can you assign a type of food to certain families? Side dish, main dish, dessert, app. DH's family did that one year and that's how his fire department does it. It works out pretty well.

I wouldn't do anymore than the pasta salad though since you are renting the space too. I like the idea of putting a jar out to collect money. Definitely go with 2 pastas. I tend to order or make too much food, but I love party food as leftovers.

[akafred]

supertrooper1, my family ranges from very poor to very wealthy and everything in between. I think a few people will probably offer me $20 or whatever and that is fine, but I don't want to put pressure on those who really can't afford it to put money in the can. I don't mind paying for the pavilions and I can afford it, I just don't want to (or think I should be obligated to) cater full meals for everyone when they are also all bringing food.



Also, the reunion is basically my late grandmother's kids (80's), grandkids (40's to 60's), great grandkids (teens to 20's), and great-great-grandkids (all kids). Also some of my grandmother's brother's descendants will be coming. But I can't expect those of the older generation to even have FB much less be able to edit Google docs etc.

[supertrooper1]

akafred, that sounds like my family, except we don't have any very wealthy people. The people who can't afford it bring a bag of chips and don't contribute and the ones that can bring more food and chip in $10-20. I get that you're not expecting people to chip in for the pavilion rental. Just make sure that you don't bring all the food too to set the precedence. Because of the older generation not on FB in my family, it's all word of mouth. We've never had a sign up sheet and there is always a ton of food.

[akafred]

supertrooper1, not really "very wealthy", but comparatively wealthy compared to the poor ones. Like the small town attorney and the pediatrician. No one is living off trust funds or buying wings at Harvard .