Feedback and Lessons Learned from Climate Camp.

1.1 What kind of set up did climate camp have?

This advice is based on a model of 11 150-200 people capacity kitchens cooking three meals a day. There were 10 neighbourhood kitchens and one central/hub kitchen. The central kitchen did site set up and tat down food, kitchens support and co-ordinated food ordering and storage throughout the two weeks.

The central kitchen only cooked meals when it was needed to extend capacity beyond the neighbourhoods, and in the event that was most of the time. It had a dedicated team and provided continuity and coherency to food provision.

The central kitchen was the site of daily post lunch kitchens meetings where all kitchens teams met and agreed numbers, staggered timing of meals and sometimes talked menus. At the meeting we would also troubleshoot and gather money in from neighbourhoods to be banked.

A team of three co-ordinators there re-ordered food as needed, in conversation with the finance team.

The central kitchen was the hub of food provision and in many ways worked very well.

More devolved and less centralised models are possible, but Lou has not tried doing them on a large scale. Next year we may try doing a central café and snack area, providing soup and snacks, but not a central kitchen as such.

1.2 Staffing needs

Kitchens were staffed by a combination of volunteers on a rota, co-ordinated by experienced cooks. A 250 people capacity kitchen generally needs at least 5 experienced co-ordinators and more is better. A large main meal needs around 8 volunteers for chopping as well as washing up help (2-4 people working shifts).

The co-ordinator should not only be someone who understands cooking but also has strong understanding of food hygiene, kitchen flow and time management.

Rotas are generally in four hour blocks, and peak activity is around vegetable preparation and clearing up at the end. Less people are needed to actually cook. Too many cooks spoil the broth!

It can work well to delegate specific tasks to people in teams. For example, One team responsible for sauce prep, two on salads. The co-ordinator should work out how the tasks of the meal could be divided this way.

It is recommended that you also have a food store co-ordinator available at agreed times. This person keeps track of stock, and also can be a key person in preventing overuse of expensive items. At climate camp expensive vegetables had to be rationed, and menu advice had to be given to aid the use of bulk and cheaper items.

Note: Separating food co-ordination and kitchen set up from cooking, and advice on tat down

The central kitchen team at climate camp had responsibility for both cooking and food and fuel provision, and also set up, food ordering and numbers co-ordination.

It is highly recommended that these things are separated in future as it contributed to burn out. The people responsible for general food and stock needs and kitchen co-ordination should not be the same people doing the cooking. They are different tasks, and in combination can do you in!

Another way of avoiding burnout is to have a fresh and seperate crew for tat down, and also for set up.

1.3 Hot Water and Tea and Coffee

Climate camp had tea and coffee and hot water provision for washing up devolved to kitchens. This was extremely stressful and very propane heavy and affected cooking capacity.

Next year we may try having a team with responsibility only for hot water and tea and coffee provision, armed with a lot of rocket stoves. It is recommended that hot water is a separate concern from cooking with a dedicated team, even if it is located in the same general area as the kitchens.