A critical part of a fundraising gala is the catering of a delicious meal served to your guests with the utmost care and attention from a catering partner who understands the importance of guest experience and the timing of the meal in your program.
At the onset of the pandemic, catering companies across the country were forced to close for a period of time and identify creative ways to keep their business moving forward without the presence of large in-person gatherings.
One such catering company based in Portland, OR is the VT Group who provides casual to high-end, full-service catering, event production, and facility management. VT Group’s flagship brands include Vibrant Table Catering & Events, Food in Bloom Catering, f&b cafe and catering, and Vibrant Flowers. VT Group also manages several of the city’s most beautiful and diverse spaces including four event venues and two cafe locations in the Portland Metro area. Their mission is to foster exemplary relationships within our community, developing and maintaining quality connections with partners who share our same ambition, drive, and values.
I sat down (virtually) with Meg Goldman Community Relations & Senior Event Planner at Vibrant Table Catering and Events who has been with the company for 14 years, to hear more about their transition to supporting virtual fundraising events and what things have been like for the catering industry during the pandemic.
(Responses have been edited for clarity)
Tracey:
So, you like everyone else have made the jump to virtual events! Tell me a bit more about Vibrant Table Virtual Events.
Meg:
Vibrant Table Virtual Events supports Portland’s corporate, non-profit & social Virtual Events by delivering delicious catered meals safely to your participants’ home. Guests dine in their own homes, connected online to a virtual event by an event organizer, and connected to each other by enjoying the same meal at the same time. We’re proud to have provided Virtual Event catering and services with numerous Portland, OR area nonprofit organizations like Portland Center Stage, Cascade AIDS Project, NARAL Pro-Choice, Meals on Wheels People,Youth Rights & Justice, and more.
Tracey:
How did you land on this service?
Meg:
Initially, we thought that our business would be fine in a month or two-like so many others. At first, we did VT to You-which was a delivery for food for the week that was heat-and-serve. It was moderately successful, but we knew we could do more, especially for our business and nonprofit clients. So we thoughts, “How can we make this work for your galas?” which historically have been a large part of our business.
Major events are usually very complex-this is very simple. We offer seasonal menus, allow our clients to select the soup or salad, entree, and dessert to offer their guests and each item is heat-and-serve in their own home after it is delivered by our team. We include detailed instructions on what to do with each item after it arrives and then how to prepare and serve it. We are designing menus specifically for this type of service to ensure quality to meet or exceed the quality our nonprofits and their donors have come to expect from us over the years.
Tracey:
What is the process like for the nonprofit planning and coordinating the virtual event?
Meg:
After reviewing our service offerings, we contract with the nonprofit organization for the event. We require a guarantee of a 50 meal minimum which most organizations provide to sponsors and VIP level attendees. Then the organization can offer other attendees the opportunity to purchase the meal on their own if their virtual event is free to attend or include it in a ticket price if that is the route they are going.
One other service we’ve rolled out to make this even easier on the nonprofits we work with is our VT virtual ordering site. We build out a unique ordering site for the client to share with sponsors, VIPs, and attendees to place their orders for their meals. If the organization is comping meals, those guests would use a discount code on the platform to place their order. It’s a very easy process for us to manage all these RSVP’s and orders and then get all the delivery addresses to coordinate the drop-offs in advance of the event.
Tracey:
Let’s for a moment cover safety. What protocols are in place?
Meg:
All VT staff are following the latest safety guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Oregon Health Authority for COVID-19 when working in our spaces, preparing, and delivering food. Our delivery drivers are practicing a contactless delivery and each package is handled with the utmost care.
Tracey:
What has the response been from donors and nonprofit organizers?
Meg:
Before each delivery, our team emails each guest when to expect it. This starts a dialogue with the attendees which has frequently returned a response about the quality and ease of this process for them.
Tracey:
I was lucky enough to enjoy a meal for a virtual fundraising event a few weeks ago and honestly, it was the best meal I’ve had the entirety of the pandemic. It felt like I was back in the ballroom at an incredible fundraising event. And to top it off, the details of how to prepare everything was so simple and I loved how it was timed to match up with when the live stream would be taking place.
Meg:
Thank you for that, Tracey. We’ve really had positive feedback on all fronts-food, the little touches like packaging and instructions, and bringing more of the in-room experience to the virtual event.
We’re also including programs and other materials with the deliveries if that’s something the organization would like for us to do. And if they have major donors or sponsors they want to receive added benefits or materials we can handle that as part of their meal delivery also.
Tracey:
Not all our readers are in the Portland area, what recommendations do you have for those organizations going a more DIY route?
Meg:
The first and most important thing to know is that anyone handling food needs to have their food handlers card-if you don’t, there is a huge liability for your organization. The same can be said for distributing alcohol. We did a lot of research and have licenses to serve but fairly early on learned we could deliver wine and beer but not hard alcohol (in Oregon). So be cautious and make sure you’re doing all your research about what is and isn’t allowed in your state.
Delivery and/or pickup of these meals or even snack boxes is complex, it takes our team a lot of work to schedule out and route all the deliveries for the meals in advance of the event. At the end of the day, just like with many other aspects of your event, our advice is to always go to a professional. They will always be worth the extra money and the knowledge they bring to the table.
Tracey:
Where can our readers go to learn more?
Meg:
Visit https://www.vibranttablevirtualevents.com or email inquiry@vtgrouppdx.com
