Start Here...
- Please read and understand your role early and often! The Chairperson/s are happy to answer any questions you have. We only ask that you read this page all the way through, and that you review this committee's report from last year, a PDF file at the bottom of this page, before proceeding.
- Your committee members will bring all sorts of creative ideas to your committee. So try to recruit volunteers before the end of the school year as it may be hard to wrangle volunteers once school begins. Stay in touch with your volunteers over the summer.
- We would like to store as many of the Spaghetti Supper documents on this website as possible, so please keep an accurate electronic record of your progress as you go.
- Once the Chairperson/s set the first Spaghetti Supper meeting in late August or September, schedule your own committee meeting in September.
- Please attend all Spaghetti Supper meetings, sending a representative only if you cannot attend. Your attendance helps you and the rest of the committees.
- If you make use of you committee binder, add a printed coy of you report and copies of any documents and be sure to return it to the Chairperson/s at the wrap-up meeting after the supper.
- Send an electronic copy of your report and any support documents including photographs, PDFs of documents and/or templates for future chairs to use, to the Spaghetti Supper Chairperson and Class Treasurer.
- Have a great time!
Grazie!
Salad Committee Responsiblilities
Review the Massachusetts guidelines for food service here, http://www.mafoodsafetyeducation.info/cook/food-safety-for-food-workers/. You can print out the PDF below, although it is recommended that you check the link to be sure the guidelines are up to date. Print or email the PDF to share the guidelines with your team.
massachusetts_food_safety_for_food_workers.pdf |
The Salad Committee is responsible for all aspects of the salads served at the Spaghetti Supper, which includes but is not limited to:
Procurement
Salad ingredients were donated by Whole Foods, which was arranged by the Procurement team. The Chairperson coordinated specific quantity and type of salad mix with Marketing & Community Relations (Meaghan Murphy) at Whole Foods. It is important to discuss quantities with Meagan to insure that she has the right amount for pick-up on the day of the event. We had some back & forth email correspondence regarding the number of cases. It was determined that we need 20 cases of 12 bags of salad (10 oz. each). We had leftover salad at the end of the Supper, however, the salad bowls were on the small side this year. The salad mix provided by Whole Foods made for great tasting, colorful salads. In addition to the bagged salad mix, Whole Foods provided 40 bags of 4.5 oz. croutons and 48 bottles of Caesar salad dressing. We kept it simple and only offered Caesar salad.
The ingredients were picked up on the morning of the Supper and delivered to the school cafeteria by Salad Committee volunteers. Two cars are needed or 1 large van.
Salad donations have historically consisted of two types of salad – pre-cut, washed salad in bags OR full cases of various types of head lettuce that need to be chopped, washed, and dried prior to assembly. For 2017, we had pre-washed salads in bags. (I highly recommend this option!) To ensure proper volunteer coordination and preparation time, it is critical that the procurement team confirms and communicates in advance to the Salad Chairperson which type of salad will be provided by the donor. If the lettuce is pre-cut and bagged (recommended), then the Salad Chairperson can coordinate volunteers to work on salad ingredient prep and assembly for the afternoon and evening of the event. However, if the donor is providing uncut heads that require chopping, washing, and drying, the Salad Chairperson should plan to arrange for committee volunteers to work the prior evening on prepping the lettuce for assembly on the day of the event.
Volunteer Recruitment, Scheduling, and Workflow
The Salad Chairperson should reach out to their social network of sixth grade parents for volunteers as soon as they are named to the position (ideally May/June). By August, most 6th grade parents have already been tapped for a committee. Chairperson should not rely on the additional recruiting efforts by the Event Coordinators. The salad committee is one of the largest committees, with more positions to fill than most of the other committees, and therefore takes more time and effort to recruit a full roster of volunteers. It is recommended that the committee include 10 people in order to fully cover each shift.
The first shift on the day of the event should plan to start in the kitchen at 2:00pm to prep ingredients and assemble salads. Salad ingredients (cucumbers, tomatoes) need to be washed and cut. We did not have cucumbers or tomatoes this year – not a good year for these crops at Clark Farm. That made the salads VERY simple. We had shaved parmesan and croutons for toppings. We dumped these items in large bowls for ease of use.
After everything has been prepped, the team can begin assembling salads. Create a sample salad for volunteers so they will know what they are trying to replicate for serving. Finished salads can be stacked on large metal trays (as the bread team finishes with them), and loaded on to wheeled carts taken from the walk-in refrigerator. Salads may be stacked in pyramids on the trays to maximize storage space. When there were no more large trays available, smaller trays can be used and placed wherever they fit in the refrigerator. Towards the end, about 4:30, salads were positioned on the serving line and croutons were added to the salads. Place a bowl of croutons at both servicing stations and the croutons can be added to new salads. This will keep the croutons from getting soggy on the damp salad in the refrigerator. The first shift can continue to prepare salads before the second shift arrives.
The second shift starts about 5:00pm, just as guests were starting to appear. As the pre-positioned salads run out, new salads can be brought out from the refrigerator by the two team members stationed at the serving line and croutons are added. Have one person keep the refrigerator organized so that large trays can be brought out quickly without the service line people having to move stacked salads around to free up a tray.
Combine any left-over salads and ingredients for the school to use the next day. Clean up consists of washing the large bowls used for mixing the salad components and wiping the prep area surfaces. If salad landed on the floor, it needs to be swept up.
The Salad Committee team worked great together! We had a 7th grade helper who stayed on task with adding parmesan and croutons as the final step before serving. A strong caution to allowing younger children to “help” as the kitchen gets very busy and small children can easily get under foot. A big thank you to Sue Robichaud for her tireless effort and abundant assistance provided in “her” kitchen! Sue’s advice was invaluable on food storage, workflow, prep time, etc.
The chairperson should be sure to communicate to the team in advance to wear baseball hats or similar head coverings if they do not wish to wear hair nets. Wearing comfortable shoes is another necessity.
2014 Summary
The team worked great together and everyone provided helpful suggestions on ways to make the process work smoothly. A special call out to Lauree Eckler is warranted for all the extra assistance she offered a novice chairperson and to Sue Robichaud for all the tireless effort and help that she provided throughout the two evenings spent in “her” kitchen. Sue was critical to the success of the Salad Team. Monday night’s spontaneous prep shift would not have been possible without the support of Joanna Quinlan, Katherine Dhar, and Karen Smith stepping in and rolling up their sleeves to chop more lettuce than they will ever choose to again.
The degree to which next year’s Procurement Team can coax the future food donor to adjust the mix of what they donate for salad ingredients will make the job of the next Salad Chairperson that much easier. The ingredients provided by Whole Foods made for great tasting, colorful salads. Aside from not anticipating the need for prep work to start the night before, the most difficult part of the Chairperson’s responsibility was recruiting volunteers. Future kitchen oriented chairpersons should be sure to communicate to their team in advance to wear baseball hats or similar head coverings if they do not wish to wear hair nets. Wearing comfortable shoes is another necessity.
This was a rewarding opportunity to meet new parents, support a great cause, and have fun throughout it all. I am glad that I was able to participate in a meaningful way.
- Recruit committee volunteers from 6th grade parent pool (Chairperson)
- Determine how many foam salad bowls are left over from last year, stored in the PTO/CEF Storage Shed
- Based on projected attendance, determine how many additional salad bowls are needed and inform the Procurement Committee, historically between 1,100 and 1,500 bowls have been used
- Coordinate with organizing committee chairpersons on procurement of salad ingredients and bowls (Chairperson)
- Coordinate salad committee shifts (Chairperson)
- Prepare ingredients for salad assembly (all)
- Assemble salads in advance of serving dinner (all)
- Distribute salads on dinner assembly throughout serving period (all)
- Clean up assembly / distribution area following conclusion of dinner (all)
Procurement
Salad ingredients were donated by Whole Foods, which was arranged by the Procurement team. The Chairperson coordinated specific quantity and type of salad mix with Marketing & Community Relations (Meaghan Murphy) at Whole Foods. It is important to discuss quantities with Meagan to insure that she has the right amount for pick-up on the day of the event. We had some back & forth email correspondence regarding the number of cases. It was determined that we need 20 cases of 12 bags of salad (10 oz. each). We had leftover salad at the end of the Supper, however, the salad bowls were on the small side this year. The salad mix provided by Whole Foods made for great tasting, colorful salads. In addition to the bagged salad mix, Whole Foods provided 40 bags of 4.5 oz. croutons and 48 bottles of Caesar salad dressing. We kept it simple and only offered Caesar salad.
The ingredients were picked up on the morning of the Supper and delivered to the school cafeteria by Salad Committee volunteers. Two cars are needed or 1 large van.
Salad donations have historically consisted of two types of salad – pre-cut, washed salad in bags OR full cases of various types of head lettuce that need to be chopped, washed, and dried prior to assembly. For 2017, we had pre-washed salads in bags. (I highly recommend this option!) To ensure proper volunteer coordination and preparation time, it is critical that the procurement team confirms and communicates in advance to the Salad Chairperson which type of salad will be provided by the donor. If the lettuce is pre-cut and bagged (recommended), then the Salad Chairperson can coordinate volunteers to work on salad ingredient prep and assembly for the afternoon and evening of the event. However, if the donor is providing uncut heads that require chopping, washing, and drying, the Salad Chairperson should plan to arrange for committee volunteers to work the prior evening on prepping the lettuce for assembly on the day of the event.
Volunteer Recruitment, Scheduling, and Workflow
The Salad Chairperson should reach out to their social network of sixth grade parents for volunteers as soon as they are named to the position (ideally May/June). By August, most 6th grade parents have already been tapped for a committee. Chairperson should not rely on the additional recruiting efforts by the Event Coordinators. The salad committee is one of the largest committees, with more positions to fill than most of the other committees, and therefore takes more time and effort to recruit a full roster of volunteers. It is recommended that the committee include 10 people in order to fully cover each shift.
The first shift on the day of the event should plan to start in the kitchen at 2:00pm to prep ingredients and assemble salads. Salad ingredients (cucumbers, tomatoes) need to be washed and cut. We did not have cucumbers or tomatoes this year – not a good year for these crops at Clark Farm. That made the salads VERY simple. We had shaved parmesan and croutons for toppings. We dumped these items in large bowls for ease of use.
After everything has been prepped, the team can begin assembling salads. Create a sample salad for volunteers so they will know what they are trying to replicate for serving. Finished salads can be stacked on large metal trays (as the bread team finishes with them), and loaded on to wheeled carts taken from the walk-in refrigerator. Salads may be stacked in pyramids on the trays to maximize storage space. When there were no more large trays available, smaller trays can be used and placed wherever they fit in the refrigerator. Towards the end, about 4:30, salads were positioned on the serving line and croutons were added to the salads. Place a bowl of croutons at both servicing stations and the croutons can be added to new salads. This will keep the croutons from getting soggy on the damp salad in the refrigerator. The first shift can continue to prepare salads before the second shift arrives.
The second shift starts about 5:00pm, just as guests were starting to appear. As the pre-positioned salads run out, new salads can be brought out from the refrigerator by the two team members stationed at the serving line and croutons are added. Have one person keep the refrigerator organized so that large trays can be brought out quickly without the service line people having to move stacked salads around to free up a tray.
Combine any left-over salads and ingredients for the school to use the next day. Clean up consists of washing the large bowls used for mixing the salad components and wiping the prep area surfaces. If salad landed on the floor, it needs to be swept up.
The Salad Committee team worked great together! We had a 7th grade helper who stayed on task with adding parmesan and croutons as the final step before serving. A strong caution to allowing younger children to “help” as the kitchen gets very busy and small children can easily get under foot. A big thank you to Sue Robichaud for her tireless effort and abundant assistance provided in “her” kitchen! Sue’s advice was invaluable on food storage, workflow, prep time, etc.
The chairperson should be sure to communicate to the team in advance to wear baseball hats or similar head coverings if they do not wish to wear hair nets. Wearing comfortable shoes is another necessity.
2014 Summary
The team worked great together and everyone provided helpful suggestions on ways to make the process work smoothly. A special call out to Lauree Eckler is warranted for all the extra assistance she offered a novice chairperson and to Sue Robichaud for all the tireless effort and help that she provided throughout the two evenings spent in “her” kitchen. Sue was critical to the success of the Salad Team. Monday night’s spontaneous prep shift would not have been possible without the support of Joanna Quinlan, Katherine Dhar, and Karen Smith stepping in and rolling up their sleeves to chop more lettuce than they will ever choose to again.
The degree to which next year’s Procurement Team can coax the future food donor to adjust the mix of what they donate for salad ingredients will make the job of the next Salad Chairperson that much easier. The ingredients provided by Whole Foods made for great tasting, colorful salads. Aside from not anticipating the need for prep work to start the night before, the most difficult part of the Chairperson’s responsibility was recruiting volunteers. Future kitchen oriented chairpersons should be sure to communicate to their team in advance to wear baseball hats or similar head coverings if they do not wish to wear hair nets. Wearing comfortable shoes is another necessity.
This was a rewarding opportunity to meet new parents, support a great cause, and have fun throughout it all. I am glad that I was able to participate in a meaningful way.
Salad Supplies
Salad Supplies
Be sure to understand your budget, what the Procurement Committee will acquire for you, how many of each supply may be on hand from last year, and recommendations on where to purchase needed supplies before making any purchases. Use the Tax Identification Certificate to save tax on non-food items purchased in Massachusetts.
Whole Foods:
20 cases of 12 bags (10 oz bags)
*48 bottles of salad dressing
40 bags of 4.5 oz croutons
*This was more lettuce than necessary. We had 1-2 extra cases.
Costco:
2 five pound bags of shaved parmesan
1200 bowls
(Cindy Rolfe provided additional salad bowls on the day of the supper. We offered an adult size salad and a child size salad this year. Leftover bowls can be stored in the shed for future years. )
Be sure to understand your budget, what the Procurement Committee will acquire for you, how many of each supply may be on hand from last year, and recommendations on where to purchase needed supplies before making any purchases. Use the Tax Identification Certificate to save tax on non-food items purchased in Massachusetts.
Whole Foods:
20 cases of 12 bags (10 oz bags)
*48 bottles of salad dressing
40 bags of 4.5 oz croutons
*This was more lettuce than necessary. We had 1-2 extra cases.
Costco:
2 five pound bags of shaved parmesan
1200 bowls
(Cindy Rolfe provided additional salad bowls on the day of the supper. We offered an adult size salad and a child size salad this year. Leftover bowls can be stored in the shed for future years. )
Salad Committee Timeline
Spring
September-October
- Solicit volunteers; send duty description
September-October
- Determine salad supplies and bowls.
- Send SignUpGenius to committee members to select shifts: 2:00-5:00pm or 5:00-8:00pm
- Check Salad storage bin to determine if there are supplies left over from last year's supper
- Develop final needs list and bring to Procurement Committee. The Procurement Committee will strive to have the items donated or will buy them along with other items needed for the Spaghetti Supper.
2017 Salad Committee
Amy Smack – Chairperson
Holly Schoffield
John Richardson
Jennifer Saak
Deb Kablotsky
Chris Chiapella (with Graham Stuart)
Cindy Rolfe
Amy Smack – Chairperson
Holly Schoffield
John Richardson
Jennifer Saak
Deb Kablotsky
Chris Chiapella (with Graham Stuart)
Cindy Rolfe
PDF's of Past Salad Committee Reports
2017_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2015_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2014_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2013_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2012_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2011_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2010_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2009_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2008_salad_committee_report.pdf |
2008_salad_committee_task_summary.pdf |
salad_committee_task_summary.pdf |