COMMON SOUP

WHAT IS COMMON SOUP?

Common Soup will combine communal meals with crowd-funding for members projects as well as creating a great opportunity to bring members together.
Common Soup is based on Sunday Soup (www.sundaysoup.org), and would be part of the international network of Soup Grant Programs*. It is a grassroots model for funding small to medium sized creative projects through community meals. The basic formula is that a group of people come together to share a meal and that meal is sold for an affordable price. All the income from that meal is given as a grant to support a creative project. Everyone who purchases the meal gets one vote to determine who receives the grant.

*The conception was started in Chicago by inCUBATE.

WHY AT THE COMMON ROOM?

After the great success of Common Room members starting Trade School Norwich, we have been thinking what other projects could kickstart more projects and activities for members of the Common Room. One that seems perfect is Sunday Soup.

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Community
Build connections and community.

Open Funding
Provides access to micro-funding. Promotes ways of working, that may not be eligible for formal funding.

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Collaboration
Create an infrastructure for people to collaborate.

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Promote
Promote peoples project ideas & build a network of support.

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Low Threshold
Simple & unbureaucratic to encourage broad participation.

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Dialogue
Sparks dialogie about alternative funding, working and sharing models.

FIXING
Repair Cafe

GROWING
FARM:Shop

SHARING
Fallen Fruit

what PROJECTs COULD BE kick-started?

WORKING
Hackermoms

LEARNING
Trade School

TRADING
FEAST

COULD YOU BE A CO-FOUNDER?

The exciting part about being an organiser of a Soup Granting Program is the opportunity it provides for meeting new people, as well as being a key part of catalysing new creative projects.

HOW TO ORGANISE ... 1.

Find a space.

Design project.

2.
Build a co-founding team.

3.
Source supplies.

4.
Promote event & call for proposals.

5.
Charge a modest amount for a meal & vote.

6.
Service food, engage people, proposals presentation.

7.
People vote for their favourite project and proceeding distributed accordingly.

8.
Document, reect, share your experience with others.

Based on a poster by Nerissa Cooney and Alex Hage of FEAST Mass (http://sundaysoup.org/international-day-soup).

HOW WILL COMMON SOUP NORWICH WORK?

Granting projects afliated with Sunday Soup in different cities operate based on their own needs and context.

SOME DECISIONS TO MAKE ...

How many people needed to co-found the project?
At other Sunday Soups lots of people come together to organise and prepare the meals, including the grant applicants; however, a core team is generally needed to lead the project.

What to cook?
The meals are more or less elaborate in different places. They have varied from soup to ice-cream sundaes.

Where will you get supplies from? Attracting co-founders?

Tell people about the Soup Granting Program and invite them to participate. Point people to the Sunday Soup website for reference to the project to help illustrate your intentions. For example, could they be sourced from Norwich FarmShare?

How many people aiming to attract?

Based on the space and facilities capacity, and making enough prot for the micro-grants.

When and how often will Common Soups be held?

The Soup Granting Program benets from repetition, establishing a consistent time and place makes it easier to build an engaged and committed community.

How to promote?
Could be as simple as calling or emailing other members and friends or using social networking sites. As St Lawrences has capacity, the general public could be invited.

What equipment is required?

How will the food be cooked or reheated in the church - slow cooker, electric hob? What cutlery will be supplied or will people bring there own?

How will you record the events?

Document your Soup Granting Program meetings through video, photographs or any other means. Share your experiences with others through a group web log or newsletter. Use your email list to reach a large group quickly and efciently.

POSSIBLE MODELS ...

Traditional Model
Organising Co-founding Group Collaboratively cook and share meal Proceeds Vote Project

Pay

Catered Model
Local restaurant/ cafe caters Share meal Proceeds Vote Project

Pop-up Restaurant Model

Cook & serve meal

Proceeds

Test Trading Restauranteur

Rent

Vote

Project

SUNDAY SOUP INSPIRATION ...

INTERESTED IN MAKING THIS HAPPEN?

Contact Sarah by email: thecommonroom.norwich@gmail.com