Folks.
My Daughter is about to leave her cub group to move into scouts, however I think due to funding issues & incompetence on part of some committee members finances could be a burden for anyone who steps into leaderships shoes.
Bluntly put, the hq is owned by our group , when a group folds all the monies from land, funds, kit etc go directly to scouting HQ, if you subsequently start up again you merely receive a grant of around £800 for kit, rent etc, so you can see why i'd like to try & ensure continuity...
Therefore as one of the very slack fundraisers I'm wondering what could be smoked & sold easily over the course of a few summer fetes (afternoon duration) & a couple of weekender's to bolster funds?
Garlic bulbs smoked, how much to charge (200g = 3 bulbs from Lidl) ..noticed that the ridiculously overpriced farm shop "visiting centre" charges £1.50+ per bulb.
Vanilla sugar ...we already do this vac sealed.
Any food sales have to hold basic hygiene food handling etc.
I've noticed the garlic firm implies it's smoked for 60hrs, do you reckon that is purely time smoked or in a smoker (there's always a difference when it comes to marketing) eg sitting & absorbing more residual smoke within the environment afterwards prior to packaging?
what would you pay,as a consumer for a nice sized garlic bulb? (this aint Borough market) ,..how many do you think would sell amongst a few smokey & sweet delights, & what would the "keep" time / window be for product saleability, to work out some numbers & costings.
How would you like a bulb packaged? ..paper bag? twist of greaseproof paper & wire tied?
For vanilla we seal (not vacuum) into vac bags having used 1 lb of caster sugar & "massage" it daily with a split, de-seeded pod, then add extra seed for appearance, use a dymo printer label with the logo et al on (less than a penny per label) & make a silver card belt for it, (free paper / card) & sell it for £3.50 or so.
obviously I'd love to be able to buy & smoke cheese but there is such uncertainty related to produce sales, i'd love to try a farmers market or similar with a gammut of goods & prove a point, but could not afford to swallow the outlay, nor would it be granted.
Sadly fundraising parents are non-existent so it's somewhat infuriating.
Idea's & costings from those who may have done similar in order that I can try & push the envelope (or fill it) as I'm sure some of you have done some charitable smoking previously, (the amount we seem to give away is charity in itself)
I reckon a local farming family I do pumpkin carving for would also sell (honesty pitch side of road) bulbs for me & collect the money or on a split basis!? ..slow burn fundraising however.