Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
gauge what was going to happen.

Small church... 96 members.

We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A
10 pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
pancakes.

Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do
set-up, etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
bacon, 72 sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.

Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.

Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
left over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.

(Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)

If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.

It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
my list for something to do on a regular basis.

George L

On Oct 10, 7:45*am, George Leppla > wrote:
> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
> on. *Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
> gauge what was going to happen.
>
> Small church... 96 members.
>
> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
> pre-made. *We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. *A
> 10 pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
> pancakes.
>
> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
> small frying pans. *It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
> put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. *Got to church at 8:30 to do
> set-up, etc. *At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
> sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
> bacon, 72 sausage patties. *We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
> apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
> children. *Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
> left over. *We collected $181. *Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
> if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
> George L

Good work, guy!! I assumed that the cooking was going to be done at
the church, tho. Maybe next time someone could be making the 'cakes
fresh on a griddle affair? I guess they have no stove?

Maybe you should make up a Pancake Bible of dos and don'ts. It would
sure make it easier for the next guy in knowing quantities and
gameplan. Feeding a crowd is not easy. I"m sure they all appreciated
your efforts.

"George Leppla" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
> gauge what was going to happen.
>
> Small church... 96 members.
>
> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A 10
> pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
> pancakes.
>
> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we put
> in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do set-up,
> etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's sausage
> patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of bacon, 72
> sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams, apple
> butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes left
> over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and if the
> items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
> George L

Thanks for the report. All the suggestions and theories do not equate to an
actual after-action report.

On 10/10/2011 6:57 AM, Kalmia wrote:
> Good work, guy!! I assumed that the cooking was going to be done at
> the church, tho. Maybe next time someone could be making the 'cakes
> fresh on a griddle affair? I guess they have no stove?

The kitchen at church is very small... much smaller than ours here at
home, so we made everything here.

Having a griddle would be ideal, but the church doesn't have one and
renting one wouldn't be cost effective. The pancakes and meats were kept
warm in the church's oven.

Because of the limited facilities, most of the food related stuff we do
are pot-lucks, but we are looking at other types of meals where most of
the food could be made at home and brought in... like spaghetti, chili etc.

Everyone had fun, everyone had more than enough to eat and we made a few
dollars so I'm happy with the results.

George L

George Leppla > wrote:
-snip-

Good deal, George. Gotta be good for the karma.

>
>Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
>children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
>left over.

*Now* you get to experiment with frozen ones!<g>

>We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
>if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
>(Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
>family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
>If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
>before....

That's always good. Gives the preacher a chance to plug it one last
time. Also seems like folks have more time *after* services than
before.

>and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.

Spaghetti breakfast? Why not? We used to go to a pancake supper
at a local church every year. I cant remember if it was rural NY,
or somewhere in the south. But it was a highlight of the year for
the area.

>
>It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
>my list for something to do on a regular basis.

Those days are definitely to be done irregularly enough that you
forget how hard it was before you need to do it again. My ex used
to do the ice cream social at her church. Swore the day after
every year that someone else would have to do it next year. Then in
about a week she'd start planning the next one.

Jim

On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:45:34 -0500, George Leppla
> wrote:

>Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
>on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
>gauge what was going to happen.
>
>Small church... 96 members.
>
>We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
>pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A
>10 pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
>pancakes.
>
>Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
>small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
>put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do
>set-up, etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
>sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
>bacon, 72 sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
>Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
>apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
>Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
>children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
>left over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
>if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
>(Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
>family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
>If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
>before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
>It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
>my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
>George L

Donuts with coffee, milk, and juice would have been easier... and
probably better received... I detest pancakes, blech!

On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:45:34 -0500, George Leppla
> wrote:

>Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
>on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
>gauge what was going to happen.
>
>Small church... 96 members.
>
>We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
>pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A
>10 pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
>pancakes.
>
>Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
>small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
>put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do
>set-up, etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
>sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
>bacon, 72 sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
>Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
>apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
>Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
>children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
>left over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
>if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
>(Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
>family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
>If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
>before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
>It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
>my list for something to do on a regular basis.

Better than the usual church feed; assorted sandwiches... bologna on
white w/yallow mustard OR American cheese on white w/mayo.

"George Leppla" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
> gauge what was going to happen.
>
> Small church... 96 members.
>
> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A 10
> pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
> pancakes.
>
> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we put
> in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do set-up,
> etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's sausage
> patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of bacon, 72
> sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams, apple
> butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes left
> over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and if the
> items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
> George L
Excellent.

Dimitri

On 10/10/2011 9:18 AM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
> On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:45:34 -0500, George Leppla
> > wrote:
>
>> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
>> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
>> gauge what was going to happen.
>>
>> Small church... 96 members.
>>
>> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
>> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A
>> 10 pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
>> pancakes.
>>
>> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
>> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
>> put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do
>> set-up, etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
>> sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
>> bacon, 72 sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>>
>> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
>> apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>>
>> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
>> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
>> left over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
>> if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>>
>> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
>> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>>
>> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
>> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>>
>> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
>> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>>
>> George L
>
> Donuts with coffee, milk, and juice would have been easier... and
> probably better received... I detest pancakes, blech!

But all that really counts is that most people like pancakes. People
actually like real prepared food.

On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 07:39:21 -0700, Ranée at Arabian Knits
> wrote:

> One of the meals we'd occasionally do was baked potatoes with the
> toppings. The baked potatoes could be kept warm in those countertop
> roasters. Folks would bring scallions, bacon, shredded cheese, sour
> cream, butter, chili, etc.

That sounds easy and filling. Something everyone would enjoy.

> Or, we'd do something like gumbo and rice with hot pepper vinegar.

I'd like that as a guest, but not if I was on the committee.

> Or a brunch casserole type gathering.

Sounds good too. I imagine that church kitchens need to have up to
date wiring and lots of outlets so that people can bring their
offerings in an electric skillet, crockpot or other whatnot to keep
warm.

--

Never commit yourself to a cheese without having first examined it.
T.S. Eliot

George Leppla wrote:
> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
> gauge what was going to happen.
>
> Small church... 96 members.
>
> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A
> 10 pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
> pancakes.
>
> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
> put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do
> set-up, etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
> sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
> bacon, 72 sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
> apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
> left over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
> if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
> George L


Our small church has a free pancake breakfast every Mothers Day. The
pastor is the best pancake baker so he mans the electric skillet. I
end up doing most but not all of the rest. Almost everything is
cooked on site that morning in our tiny kitchen.

1) Krusteaz mix from Sam's Club.

2) Scrambled eggs, because they are fairly cheap, easy to cook a lot
of 'em at once, and it takes some of the pressure off the meat.

3) Frozen precooked sausage patties from Aldi. They are a huge
timesaver, taste good, and are reasonably priced.

4) Last year I bought some cans of SPAM and sliced and fried that too.
It was a big hit. (who knew?)

5) Bacon is just too expensive so we dropped that in favor of being
more generous with the sausage. But when we did have bacon, what
worked the best was having someone bring it from home, baked in their
oven. The next-best was buying a couple of big packages of precooked
bacon at Sam's and giving them a quick fry on the griddle. The
packages are very light and you don't think there's much in there, but
with very little shrinkage they go a long way.

6) Someone usually brings some fresh fruit, and we have juice, milk,
and coffee.

* * *

The men get together for breakfast about once 2 or 3 months on
Saturdays and typically have scrambled eggs, sausage or ham steaks
(Aldi again), frozen hash browns, and frozen or refrigerator biscuits.
That's a lot more informal than the big Mothers Day event.

-Bob

George Leppla > wrote:
> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
> gauge what was going to happen.
>
> Small church... 96 members.
>
> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A 10
> pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270 pancakes.
>
> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
> put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do
> set-up, etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
> sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
> bacon, 72 sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
> apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
> left over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
> if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
> George L

My brothers church has a wild game taste festival once year. My brother
brought the bear meat that was the biggest hit. That is if your looking for
ideas.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad

zxcvbob wrote:

> 5) Bacon is just too expensive so we dropped that in favor of being more
> generous with the sausage. But when we did have bacon, what worked the
> best was having someone bring it from home, baked in their oven. The
> next-best was buying a couple of big packages of precooked bacon at
> Sam's and giving them a quick fry on the griddle. The packages are very
> light and you don't think there's much in there, but with very little
> shrinkage they go a long way.
>

I had a coupon for Oscar Mayer pre-cooked bacon that made the package
about fifty cents so I tried it. I found it had an odd rancid flavor.
Did you ever notice this, or was it just me?

Goomba wrote:
> zxcvbob wrote:
>
>> 5) Bacon is just too expensive so we dropped that in favor of being
>> more generous with the sausage. But when we did have bacon, what
>> worked the best was having someone bring it from home, baked in their
>> oven. The next-best was buying a couple of big packages of precooked
>> bacon at Sam's and giving them a quick fry on the griddle. The
>> packages are very light and you don't think there's much in there, but
>> with very little shrinkage they go a long way.
>>
>
> I had a coupon for Oscar Mayer pre-cooked bacon that made the package
> about fifty cents so I tried it. I found it had an odd rancid flavor.
> Did you ever notice this, or was it just me?


I've bought the stuff several times and never noticed anything off --
and "rancid" is a smell that I'm very sensitive to.

-Bob

thanks, and good on you, Lee
"George Leppla" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
> gauge what was going to happen.
>
> Small church... 96 members.
>
> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A 10
> pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
> pancakes.
>
> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we put
> in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do set-up,
> etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's sausage
> patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of bacon, 72
> sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams, apple
> butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes left
> over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and if the
> items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
> George L

ps, if you know anyy local grocery types, say the manager, and even if you
don't if you want to try it again, make a complete list of what you will
need then ask to see the manager and ask for a donation, Lee
"George Leppla" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
> gauge what was going to happen.
>
> Small church... 96 members.
>
> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A 10
> pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
> pancakes.
>
> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we put
> in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do set-up,
> etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's sausage
> patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of bacon, 72
> sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>
> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams, apple
> butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>
> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes left
> over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and if the
> items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>
> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>
> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>
> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>
> George L

and any idiot can stop at the qwiki mart for a disgusting greasy doghnutjob,
Lee
"George" > wrote in message
...
> On 10/10/2011 9:18 AM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
>> On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:45:34 -0500, George Leppla
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Yesterday was the church pancake breakfast that Becca and I were working
>>> on. Since this was the first time we did this, we really had no way to
>>> gauge what was going to happen.
>>>
>>> Small church... 96 members.
>>>
>>> We decided to make the pancakes ourselves rather than use frozen,
>>> pre-made. We used Krusteaz Pancake mix which we got at Sam's Club. A
>>> 10 pound bag of mix was around $7 and was supposed to make up to 270
>>> pancakes.
>>>
>>> Up at 5 AM... Becca making the batter in batches, me at the stove with 4
>>> small frying pans. It took just an hour to make 180 pancakes which we
>>> put in aluminum pans, inside a cooler. Got to church at 8:30 to do
>>> set-up, etc. At the church, Becca heated some pre-cooked Jimmy Dean's
>>> sausage patties and some pre-cooked bacon in the oven (144 pieces of
>>> bacon, 72 sausage patties. We donated the pancakes, sausage and bacon.
>>>
>>> Other members donated fresh fruits, butter, syrup, jellies and jams,
>>> apple butter, juice, milk etc, etc.
>>>
>>> Bottom line... we served about 45 people.... maybe 30 adults and 15
>>> children. Almost all the meat was gone and we have about 70 pancakes
>>> left over. We collected $181. Certainly not a mind blowing amount and
>>> if the items hadn't been donated, it would have made about $100.
>>>
>>> (Suggested donation was $5 per adult, $2.50 per child with a $15 max per
>>> family but no one was turned away for lack of money.)
>>>
>>> If we do this again, we will have breakfast AFTER church instead of
>>> before.... and instead of pancakes we might do spaghetti, etc.
>>>
>>> It was fun in a way and I'm glad we did it... but it wouldn't be high on
>>> my list for something to do on a regular basis.
>>>
>>> George L
>>
>> Donuts with coffee, milk, and juice would have been easier... and
>> probably better received... I detest pancakes, blech!
>
> But all that really counts is that most people like pancakes. People
> actually like real prepared food.