Become a Facilitator

Do you love to cook? Do you feel nourished when other people are eating at your table? If we use the word “helper’s high” to describe how fabulous hosting these meetings feels, do you know what we’re talking about? Years of hard-learned experience has taught us it’s a lot easier to teach a cook the Suppers program than to turn a non-cook into a facilitator. Even we had no idea how complex the skill set is that’s needed to pull a meal together for 10 people and create harmony in the discourse at the table. People who can host are a dying breed, a lost generation or two and we must get you to teach what you know. You’ve done all the hard work, you just need to learn the program. 

Facilitator training can be accomplished in monthly meetings of an hour and a half or in a couple 5-hour sessions. Each month there are two opportunities to meet other facilitators, troubleshoot challenges that arise at meetings, pick up kitchen and knife skills, and brush up on the basics of the program. To date, trainings take place in Princeton. But we are experimenting now with distance learners and invite you to inquire, even if training in Princeton is not an option. (Before your first training, we suggest you review our How Will I Know When I'm Ready to Facilitate page.)

The minimum time requirement is about 4 hours per month, roughly the time it takes to host a meeting, from grocery shopping to the final sweep, plus one 1.5 hour facilitator meeting per month as needed. Some people host weekly meetings, and some twice a month. Some divide the tasks with a co-facilitator, covering:

  • Menu and grocery shopping
  • Setting up cooking stations
  • Handling the money
  • Preparing the food
  • Leading the meeting
  • Orchestrating clean up to your household standards
  • Doing the communicating to set up the meeting

If you'd like to learn more about becoming a facilitator, please provide your name and email address, and we'll contact you.