Food Auction for Charity?

Hello Everyone-

As I am brining 14lbs of bacon and a 13 pound pastrami in my fridge to smoke next weekend and eating leftovers of some of the 20 pounds of homemade sauage I have in my freezer, it got me thinking that I know many people that would be interested in some of it. I normally vac-seal a ton of it and hand it out to friends, etc.

I was also thinking that MANY folks on LTH also make food items that everyone loves (chili oils, hot sauces, smoked meats, etc) or would love to try.

So, not sure how logistically possible it would be, but thought that having an auction type thing for home-made food items of LTHForum members, with all the proceeds going to a charitable organization (thinking Food Bank or the like) might be a nice thing to do.

Anyone think this would be possible?
Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:So, not sure how logistically possible it would be, but thought that having an auction type thing for home-made food items of LTHForum members, with all the proceeds going to a charitable organization (thinking Food Bank or the like) might be a nice thing to do.

Anyone think this would be possible?

I'd think the easiest way to do it would be silent auction style at an LTH event. If there's a place with a private room that could handle more flexible serving, as sounds like it happened at the Hopleaf Scotch Tasting (an event I am deeply disappointed I missed)

It seems there are some websites that support online auctions, but I'd imagine our volume would be too low to make it worth whatever cut they take.

I think it sounds like a cool idea.

At the holiday party at Klas last year we did a gift exchange by raffle. We also brought donations for VI's favorite food bank. (Included in the gift exchange were several commercial items that are festive and/or hard to find in Chicago.) Perhaps we could combine the two activities to make a cash donation to the food bank.

Josephine wrote:At the holiday party at Klas last year we did a gift exchange by raffle. We also brought donations for VI's favorite food bank. (Included in the gift exchange were several commercial items that are festive and/or hard to find in Chicago.) Perhaps we could combine the two activities to make a cash donation to the food bank.

I think something like this would be a great idea. Perhaps even open it up a little more by having a thread on the Forum with pictures of the items and allow people who cannot attend to "bid". This would also allow for staggering items that may be more useful at different times during the holidays.

For example, I would be happy to smoke a turkey that someone could use on Thanksgiving.

I would also be willing to add 4 smoked pork butts (pulled pork, about 8 lbs each pre-cooked), a whole smoked brisket (about 12 lbs pre-cooked), 10 pounds of Buckboard Bacon. I could probably come up with more stuff as well. Many of these items could be picked up by the winner hot off the smoker.

I think it would be a great way to share some great food, as well as raise some money for a food bank.

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:So, not sure how logistically possible it would be, but thought that having an auction type thing for home-made food items of LTHForum members, with all the proceeds going to a charitable organization (thinking Food Bank or the like) might be a nice thing to do.

Anyone think this would be possible?
Jamie

Jamie, et. al.

Unfortunately, I have to play the mean lawyer in this response...although most of us here think your heart and tummy seem to be in the right place

I think this is a great idea, as have others at LTH from time to time, in fact we have kicked around the idea before. However, as you have correctly assumed, there are logistical problems. The moderators have to ask the big question: “what happens if someone gets sick?”

There a many concerns with the event you described, but let me dispatch this idea with the 800 pound gorilla hurdle. Our primary concern is simply a matter of tracking our members. LTH allows for open membership and anonymous posting. Simply as a responsible group, we would have to take extraordinary measures to track our members bringing food to this event. It is my opinion, and only my opinion, that a silent auction where you “buy” homemade food items crosses the line from potluck picnic to food marketing.

Incidentally, at the Holiday party, most (if not all) of the homemade items were prepared by the moderators, all of the items delivered to the food pantry were commercial items prepared in a licensed facility. I am certain we could have a lively debate, on LTH Forum of all places, whether commercially produced products are better for you than homemade, but the law would see it otherwise.

Finally, let me add a personal note: Your local and regional food banks have real needs whether LTH has an auction or not. LTH Forum has given its stamp of approval to providing meals at local charities, the food drive at the holiday party and even auctioning off the services of our members (where the purchaser can see the preparation of the product). In other words, we encourage you to share; particularly since all of us here are more likely “haves” rather than “have nots.” Please read this great post on what is a thoughtful gift.

In the meantime, you may consider contacting your fellow-members by private mail and offer to make a donation on there behalf in exchange for foodstuffs, etc. We appreciate your thoughts on this matter, but we would rather not endlessly debate all of the issues. If you believe you have another way around some of these issues, please let me or one of the other moderators know.

Regards,
Pdaane, for the moderators.