On the day of the dinner, one or two officers should show up early to arrange the room. We generally put three tables together for the serving line, and we have to move chairs as needed. We also have to provide one table for Krishna Kripa to do his demonstration. This set-up takes about 15 minutes. If there are old copies of newspapers lying around, it's a good idea to cover the serving tables with newspaper so that cleanup is easier.
When Krishna Kripa arrives, have a group of volunteers ready to take all of the food out of his car and move it inside. It can be heavy, since the 5-gallon buckets can easily weigh 40 pounds or more each.
Once the food has been brought in, have some of the officers set it up appropriately in the correct order. Then, one officer can do the "short announcement", which basically amounts to welcoming everyone and introducing Krishna Kripa. At this point, the attendance may seem small, but it will grow over time. If there are enough people, it's a good idea to mention that plastic plates are available, so that people can buy them before the demo begins.
As Krishna Kripa does his demonstration, it's a good idea to do a head-count and see how many people have arrived. Krishna Kripa usually makes enough food for everyone, but sometimes, especially with popular dishes, something might run out if left on its own, so the officers will have to serve it out manually. It's better to have everyone get a little of everything than to run out of food.
Once the demo is over, it's time for the long announcement. At this point, you should welcome everyone to veggie club, introduce Krishna Kripa once again, and tell everyone the format of the evening. You should also mention the 3-section plates for sale and talk about how the club stays running - namely through donations and veggie cutting. Mention the suggested donation, and if donations were low the previous week, make mention of that fact as well. We don't want to force anyone to pay, but most people are quite capable of donating the suggested amount, so there's no point letting the club run out of money because people didn't know that the donations weren't covering expenses.
Finally, thank the cutters and mention what items are non-vegan (just ask Krishna Kripa). You'll also want to tell them at this time that the tables are self-busing, and that the last person to leave each table is responsible for cleaning it. Most people will forget, so it's important to make an announcement later on as well.
As people go through line, see if any dishes look like they might run out, and make an announcement if necessary. Most people will behave nicely and make sure nothing runs out, but they have to know that in advance. Finally, get as good a head-count as possible, to help estimate the attendance for next time, and also to determine how the donations are running.
At the end of the dinner, some of the officers should count the money while others clean up the place. From the donations, whatever officers spent during the week should be reimbursed, and the rest should be given to Krishna Kripa. He reinvests all of the veggie club money back into veggie club in one form or another, whether it's through better food or utensils.
Estimating attendance is something of an art, and the two factors which seem to have the most effect on attendance are the weather and other events. On cold days, more people show up to veggie club, since they don't want to go far. On nice days, attendance drops a little bit, but usually not a lot. The days which have the highest impact on attendance are large sports events, such as football games, and special days like RSVP's Outreach Day. The president should keep track of such days and let Krishna Kripa know in advance so that the amount cooked can be adjusted.
Veggie Club usually does OK financially, except for days when the attendance is badly underestimated. There's not much that can be done on those days, and that's why it's important to try to be on the ball as far as guessing attendance goes. Even when donations fall short of expenses, that's not the end of the world, since other days have the opposite situation. Overall, Krishna Kripa adjusts what he buys to make things work out right.