February 2013 Recap

Our seventh Provision – and our two year anniversary! – was Sunday, February 17. It was a pleasure to celebrate our anniversary back at New Urban Arts. Many, many thanks to all the folks who came out and helped – by proposing, volunteering, voting,  and, as always, by eating.

February stats:

NUMBERS: Food
We fed 130 or so people, including volunteers.

NUMBERS: Money
We spent about $837 on the meal and other event-related set-up items.

We collected $760 via PayPal (RSVPs), an additional $354 at the door/for cash reservations, and $553 for a la carte beverages.

We awarded $600 to Grove St Apiary, and $350 to Providence’s Next Generation of Awesome Screenprinters, and $200 to One Gun Gone (see proposal info in the menu below). This was our first dinner awarding three grants! We used the balance of reservation, door, and beverage monies to cover event costs – but this time we also had a surplus to put toward awards (we saved some of our income from the last Provision for maintenance costs – we needed a new hot plate, to replace some lighting equipment, etc. – but we didn’t spend all of it . . . so we were able to give it away!).

VOTING PROCESS
Voting was based on a tiered system: Diners nominated their first, second, and third choice proposals. First place = 3 points, second place = 2 points, third place = 1 point. Most overall points received the Provision grant (and a bouquet of flowers).

MENU/PROPOSALS
Download July’s menu here: ProvisionMenu_February17_2013. Proposals are within. Please note this updated special thanks list:

Setup/backstage/waiter/clean up folks John Demetrick, Carolyn Gennari, Andrew Cook, Caitlin Cali, SueEllen Kroll, James Sawyer, Simcha Davis, Lena Sawyer, Dana Heng, Maren Jensen, Dyan Dealy, Sophie Candelaria, Sara Merritt, Rebecca Sokoll, Walker Mettling, and Julia Gualtieri. Thanks also to bread makers Fay Strongin and Ian Cozzens and soup chefs Carolyn Gennari and our own Neal Walsh. Also thanks to Community MusicWorks students August Packard, Andrew Oung, and Alondra Rivera for the lovely music; to Simcha Davis from AS220 Youth for our beautiful logo; and to Lena Sawyer and Gianna Rodriguez at AS220 Youth for our stunning posters.

OTHER DETAILS
We are, as always, seeking feedback from dinner guests and proposers about their experiences at Provision. If you have thoughts, or would like to volunteer at a future Provision, don’t hesitate to contact us at providenceprovision [at] gmail [dot] com.

See photos from February 17 here:

Provision at New Urban Arts is tomorrow!

Featuring SEVEN exciting proposals from Scott Lapham, Jenine Bressner, Rita Lombardi, Peter Lutz, Anne Reinhardt, Emily Leighton, Phillip Eil, Provision at New Urban Arts is tomorrow! Rain or shine, snow or no snow, we are on! (It’s true, a storm and consequent parking ban are predicted, but lucky for us Providence is a walkable city! There are also several parking lots within a few blocks, and a large covered parking garage a block away at Dean and Fountain Streets.)

See you tomorrow!

Reserve for February 17!

Provision is back! Click here for details on how to make reservations for February 17, here for information about proposing, and email us at providenceprovision [at] gmail [dot] com if you want to volunteer!

July 2012 Recap

Our sixth Provision was Sunday, July 15. Many, many thanks to all the folks who came out and helped – by proposing, volunteering, voting,  and, as always, by eating.

July stats:

NUMBERS: Food
We fed 130 or so people, including volunteers.

NUMBERS: Money
We spent about $550 on the meal and other event-related items. As always, we sought out donations for food and other items.

We collected $557.53 via PayPal (RSVPs), an additional $493 at the door/for cash reservations, and $450 for a la carte beverages.

We awarded $750 to the Roger Williams Park Edible Forest Garden and $200 to The Pantry Project (see proposal info in the menu below). This was our first dinner awarding multiple grants!

We used the balance of the reservation, door, and beverage monies to cover the event costs.

VOTING PROCESS
Voting was based on a tiered system: Diners nominated their first, second, and third choice proposals. First place = 3 points, second place = 2 points, third place = 1 point. Most overall points received the Provision grant (and a bouquet of flowers).

MENU/PROPOSALS
Download July’s menu here: ProvisionMenu_July15_2012. Proposals are within. Please note this updated special thanks list:

Setup/backstage/waiter/clean up folks John Demetrick, Carolyn Gennari, Carolyn’s mom, Simcha Davis, Lena Sawyer, Julia Moreno, Dana Heng, Mari Robles, John Jacobson, Dana Dunham, Leigh Waldron-Taylor, Dyan Dealy, Sophie Candelaria, Ayn Sawyer, Mr. Sawyer, Olivia Lane, Richard, Jenine Bressner, Mimi Budnick, and Naomi. Thanks also to bread maker Fay Strongin and soup chefs Cael Thompson and Ricardo Ferrer. Also thanks to Keith Heyward, Noel’le Longhaul, and Natalie Jablonski for the lovely music; to Simcha Davis from AS220 Youth for our beautiful logo; and to Lena Sawyer and Gianna Rodriguez at AS220 Youth for our stunning posters.

OTHER DETAILS
We are, as always, seeking feedback from dinner guests and proposers about their experiences at Provision. If you have thoughts, or would like to volunteer at a future Provision, don’t hesitate to contact us at providenceprovision [at] gmail [dot] com.

Check out this great article about Provision in the Providence Phoenix here!

And finally, see photos from July 15 here:

Reserve for July 15!

Provision is back! Click here for details on how to make reservations for July 15, here for information about proposing, and email us at providenceprovision [at] gmail [dot] com if you want to volunteer!

February 2012 Recap

Our fifth Provision was Sunday, February 19. Many, many thanks to all the folks who came out and helped – by proposing, volunteering, voting,  by eating – and also to the entire Provision community for supporting us for the past year! Yes!

February stats:

NUMBERS: Food
We fed 130 or so people, including volunteers.

NUMBERS: Money
We spent about $500 on the meal and other event-related items. As always, we sought out donations for food and other items, and are proud to say that we have now broken even on set-up costs! As such, we will be able to award larger grants in the future.

We collected $693.17 via PayPal (RSVPs), an additional $500 at the door/for cash reservations, and $339 for a la carte beverages.

We awarded $600 to Eating with the Ecosystem (see proposal info in the menu below).

We used the balance of the door and beverage monies to cover the event costs and chip away at our initial start-up costs (which, as stated above, are finally recovered!).

VOTING PROCESS
Voting was based on a tiered system: Diners nominated their first, second, and third choice proposals. First place = 3 points, second place = 2 points, third place = 1 point. Most overall points received the Provision grant (and a bouquet of flowers).

MENU/PROPOSALS
Download February’s menu here! Proposals are within. Please note this updated special thanks list:

Backstage/waiter/clean up folks John Demetrick, Simcha Davis, Lena Sawyer, James Sawyer, Roger, Cael Thompson, Jayme Mallindine, Katie Miller, Adj Marshall, Mollie Hosmer-Dillard, Carolyn Gennari, Rebecca Noon, and Walker Mettling; additional set up helpers Caitlin Cali, Jed Hancock-Brainerd, John Demetrick, Lindsey Beal, Dyan Dealy, and Mari Robles; menu-maker Julia Gualtieri; cooks Fay Strongin and Tess and Laura Brown-Lavoie of Sidewalk Farms CSA (sourdough bread), Ian Cozzens (honey whole wheat bread), James Sawyer and family (Tofu Curry), Cristina DiChiera (sugar cookies), and Chris Mulligan (munken and petit fours). Also thanks to Dylan and Noah Block-Harley for the perfect music; to New Urban Arts for the beautiful space and to Julia Gualtieri, Caitlin Cali, and Noel Puello for representing NUA throughout the weekend; to Simcha Davis from AS220 Youth for our beautiful logo; and to Lena Sawyer and Gianna Rodriguez at AS220 Youth for our incredible posters.

OTHER DETAILS
At the September 2011 Provision, past grantee Miguel Rosario presented an update of his photography work. February 2012′s dinner guests and volunteers heard from past grantees local grocery Fertile Underground and theatre-makers Strange Attractor. Both presenters spoke eloquently about how Provision support enabled them to see their projects through, because of grant funds but moreover because of the votes of confidence they received from the Provision community. As Michael said, “Once we got the Provision grant, not only were we able to open a bank account with the funds, but my friend looked at me and said, ‘Now you have to do this. You have to open the store. You can’t not do it.’” As always, all proposers regardless of receiving grant funds made valuable connections at the event – for example, this month, Val Khislavsky may have acquired a much-needed chest freezer for her project from a Provision attendee!

We are, as always, seeking feedback from dinner guests and proposers about their experiences at Provision. If you have thoughts, or would like to volunteer at a future Provision, don’t hesitate to contact us at providenceprovision [at] gmail [dot] com.

And finally, see photos from February 19 here:

Reserve now for February 19!

Provision is back! Click here for details on how to make reservations for February 19, here for information about proposing, and email us at providenceprovision [at] gmail [dot] com if you want to volunteer!