Hot Food at the DCs past...What was it like? (page 5)

james_woods

Well, I just have to say that what I remember of Assembly Food was pretty horrible. Just like school cafeteria food, except done without permanent facilities, and made up by non-professional (if well intentioned) amatuer volunteers.

I have a story from the big assembly in Houston, Texas - week long International Assembly at the AstroDome, circa 1972.

I am volunteer for food service. Logistics. Buying food, having it delivered, keeping records, etc.

They had about three semi trailer trucks (refrigerated, little gas motor AC plant mounted up high on the front of each trailer) - and inside, were stacks upon stacks of just about the cheapest chopped beef minute steaks you can imagine.

Somebody forgot to put gas in one of the trailers AC plant. It quit, and nobody noticed for at least 24 hours. Finally, they realized the problem. Remember, this was Houston in the long hot summer. A serious conference was called over what to do with the meat. After prayerful thought, it was decided to cook it up and feed it to the brothers and sisters.

Several of us were painfully aware of the possible consequences, and were quite relieved that we did not make the news with a massive outbreak of food poisoning.

Divine intervention, or just plain dumb luck? - take your choice.

Farkel

:I came in to the "loving" organization when they had the nasty cold food so I dont know how good the hot cooked food was. My ex says it was pretty good, but should I have belived her? I would think hot food made for a happier time at least for the eaters.

The hot food was great and very cheap! It was the best part of the assembly.

The society discontinued it because they were making a profit on it and the authorities said they would have to charge tax to keep selling it. They sold out the brothers and discontinued the program because they didn't want to be bothered with the paperwork and loss of profit.

Farkel

Finally-Free

Anyone remember the Meal Tickets? they were little booklets you would buy before the ASSembLies and use these tickets to purchase food, I think every booklet was like $5

That's something that can make me livid to this day. In 1985 we were assigned to an "international" convention in Montreal. It was a big expense for me, as I was working part time, just paid off a mountain of debt, and was preparing to pioneer™ beginning that fall. We were encouraged to buy a lot of meal tickets with a view to eating all our meals at the convention. Being an obedient little idiot, I did just that. I went to the convention on a shoestring budget, thinking I'd eat at the convention. Big mistake. The lineups for the food stands were at least 45 minutes long. No matter how early I got to the stands, there was never any food other than still frozen pudding, soft drinks, and fruit bags with half of the contents missing. People lined up at the stands a good hour before they opened, and I suspect a lot of them bought and hoarded all the food they could carry. I came back to Toronto with $70 worth of unused food tickets. Who would have thought that "Jehovah's organization" would print and sell more tickets than they had food? Silly me. I was very close to leaving the JWs over that, but unfortunately, stupidity prevailed and I stayed. W

tan

I remember the Circuit assemblies and hot food.

Usually fried fish or chicken platter.

That didn't last very long though...they were complaining that people would fall asleep during the afternoon section from such a filling lunch.

tan

A frozen Swiss Miss pudding, cheese danish, and lemon lime Shasta is quite nostalgic. I could go for some right now.

I remember that....those cheese danishes were soooo good.

NanaR

Hey brzfst:

The hot food was pretty much like you would get in a school cafeteria. I liked it.

I worked in the cafeterias at circuit and district assemblies. It was a good way to meet cute brothers ;-). In 1969, I was in Atlanta and worked under the kitchen tent in 100 degree heat. I was assigned to washing pots, and for entertainment I got to listen to Fred Franz talks.

The end of food at assemblies was the end of assemblies being any fun at all for me. Food and fellowship go together. It is NO FUN to feed a husband and three hungry kids out of the back of your station wagon in a parking lot in the blazing sun. And if you left, you not only got talked about, but you lost your half-way decent parking place.

Just my 2 cents...

Ruth

james_woods

Farkel is exactly correct. While good money was being made, the society hates the authority of society so much that they would rather have people going hungry or eating sack lunch than pay normal sales tax on the things they sell.

Notice that they also shot themselves in the foot in exactly the same way over selling the literature from door to door.

Makes you wonder it it might not have been just as well to simply pay the tax (like it says in the bible) and get on with life? NOOOOO - Watch Tower Society has too long a history of hating every simgle thing the United States Government has ever stood for - (except, of course - for the civil liberty to spout forth hate for the very Government that is protecting them.)

BTW - does everybody remember the "Food Ticket Arrangement"? - early on, you just paid for food with money. Later, I think probably very late sixties, you were supposed to buy up blocks of "food tickets" in even dollar amounts. They could then be traded for cokes or fruit plate or whatever.

Many people were offended by the idea that you had to buy them in advance and probably would end up with unused tickets. The word from above was that you were to put whatever tickets you did not use into one of the contribution boxes at the end of the assembly.

snowbird

Fried Eggs, Bacon and Grits yumm

Uh huh. They used to fry the bacon, drain off some of the grease, then pour the whipped eggs over the bacon and scramble everything together.

That was so good over hot grits along with a cup of great-tasting coffee!

I agree that food and fellowship go hand in hand, NanaR. When they discontinued the the practice of having hot, sit-down meals, the heart and soul went out of the assemblies.

Sylvia

cruzanheart

Damn, I'm old . . . I remember the hot food at the 1958 New York assemblies, and it was pretty good! And in 1963 I helped my mom cut up fresh nectarines for the Rose Bowl assembly. I can still smell that wonderful fresh fruit (and I was allowed to snack on it too -- yum!).

From 1965-1970 I lived in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the hot food at those assemblies was outstanding: fried chicken, homemade biscuits, goat stew.

Time for lunch . . .

Nina

Wordly Andre

I did like the Muff n Eggs, and the burritos were pretty good

Hot Food at the DCs past...What was it like?

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