Instantcrazy's Journal, 22 January 2015

Good luck with it!! I was going to say a Mixer or Trivia night but I think that's what you meant by "meet up" 

Word of mouth does wonders. Make sure you are clear what your focus is...cooking..support..etc that helps trememdously too. Make up print your own business cards with the groups info and hand them out to everyone you know . Good luck! Sometimes local colleges will let you do mini classes with stuff like Vegetarian cooking that would let you network with tons of peeps too. 

That's very cool - glad you will be a support and get support in your chosen WOE. 

You go girl! Proud of you for being proactive. If I was going to something like this, I would think a specific food item highlight recipe trade would be fun or spotlight items such as breads. Example: black beans, everyone bring a recipe for a black bean dish. Or Quinoa, etc. Eventually working up to items that are unusual for your area.  

I live in the Midwest. In the middle of the Midwest. The only thing unusual to the area is me and I'm not edible. We grow corn and soybeans. This year we grew LOTS and LOTS of corn and soybeans. lol 

The group is meeting in the classroom of my food co-op. I was thinking the first meeting will be just kind of a get to know your story, and have people bring their favorite appetizer.  

I bet there are food co-op members who are interested. Terrific that you are starting this group. It should be fun and interesting. Lots of corn and soybeans here also, I was surrounded by them when I lived in the country. Maybe classes taught by members to each other. Interested to see how this group progresses.  

We don't have anything but apples and potatoes lol. I am experimenting with hydroponics to grow some of my own I am so desperate for fresh produce. 

We also have our share of corn and soybeans :). Input from people in your group will probably help you decide on content. The appetizer idea sounds wonderful. Good Luck!! 

I should clarify. The meeting I had was with the education coordinator of my co-op. I don't actually have any people yet. Anyone have any ideas on how to get people to my group? What is the best way to let a lot of people know it's going to be starting?  

Do you have a winter's farmer's market? I would go there, lots of veggie lovers :) Or see if an organic market nearby (if you have one) will let you advertise? Uhm, announce it at a town hall meeting and your plans? Host an informational night at a local hot spot? 

Maybe put an ad-insert or just a regular ad in the newspaper? My mom used to work at a local newspaper and people would sometimes print out flyers and if approved, they would put them in the papers.... 

Thanks Socolova! Those are all really good ideas. 

IC, use Meetup. Unfortunately there is a fee, but you could ask active members to pitch in with dues. IDK where in IL you are but here are some Chicago ones: http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoVeg/ http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoVeggiePride/ http://www.meetup.com/ChicagoVegCooking/ http://www.meetup.com/taste-of-vegan-chicagoland/ One suggestion on the veg and vegan groups: watch out for the political soapbox people. My veganism is absolutely connected to a decision to be as harm-LESS a consumer as possible, but people who are greener-than-thou are off putting. And it's why I left some Meetup groups that would have otherwise been good. You meet up with them for vegan cupcakes and the event is "Conscious Delicious Desserts" and there's a whole speech while there about our consciousness and all that. If you could find a polite way to say, "Let's keep it social." I think you could get and keep active members. 

FS truncated my links. How annoying. Why does FS do that? Isn't the point of these boards to share resources and support? FS and its technical shortcomings bug. No syncing, no scanning in vitamins and supplements, poor user design. I only keep logging in because IC is so hilarious and others like Kattay, WholeFoodNut, and LettyGaylor are so inspiring. It's not a very useful platform. Moderator(s): are you seeing this? #GetItTogether. Argh. 

I don't even try links with the problem everyone has. I can't seem to scan in food labels, I haven't tried it since they updated the phone app yet. May I will try that this weekend. I didn't even reload the app on my new phone since I wasn't using it. The site is awesome for some things, definitely the people.  

Tablet changed maybe to may???odd 

Is there a paper that would put a small article about your new group in for free? We have one here that is in free stands in certain areas that is about things happening in the city. I've seen articles about different groups in it.  

We have a message board at both Food Lions. An attention grabbing flyer could be posted on any public message board. I think the word of mouth suggestion is great. I understand you don't have a group yet, but I'm positive it won't be long after you get the word out. Then, your members output will help with future get togethers. 

Public message boards are a great idea. Don't forget the local library as well.