Church Fair Prices

[ScholesPanda]

I am organising the kitchen for our church fair for the first time. Do people think these prices are reasonable or not? For context, in the south of England, mixed area, some wealth, some poverty:
Bacon/ Sausage/ Veggie Sausage Sandwich: £2.50
Tea : £1.00
Coffee: £1.50 (Filter)
Squash: £0.50
YABU: Your prices are too much for a fair
YANBU: Your prices seem reasonable to me

You are overthinking this. Your prices are fine.

They're a steal!

These days I expect to pay at least £2 for hot tea/coffee.

Thanks to PP. I've taken over from an older demographic, and I want to pitch it right

You have to remember that whatever you do at a church fair you will get criticised by someone who remembers the time when you could get a full hot meal for a shilling and doesn't see why they should pay more than 10p for anything. There isn't a set of prices you could choose that will render you immune from criticism. The church fair is happening to raise money for the church, you need to be bold and insist that the food and drinks provision need to be priced to help contribute to the fundraising efforts.

This is different from the "after church" refreshments (which in our church are run as an important ministry of hospitality and there's just a coin bowl for people to put in whatever they like). This is obvious and shouldn't need stating. You are doing this to make some money. If you don't charge enough you won't make any money and everyone is wasting their time and the church roof still doesn't get repaired.

I think you could put them up a bit, £2 for tea and £2.50 for coffee. Leave the squash at 50p, but the sandwich £3 each for sausage/bacon/veggie or £4 for a bacon and sausage sandwich. Don’t forget the price needs to cover the ketchup! How about a sandwich with tea £4 deal ?

Make pricing as easy as possible.
Put out a donations box as often if thought cheap people will.leave a little more

£2 each tea/ coffee £3 sandwich £1 squash

£1 for a squash!

No way, squash was priced fine, the others you could increase. I like PP idea of a drink and sandwich deal which I think would be popular.

It was £1 at the school fair for last few years.

Whenever I go to church fates etc. I am usually thinking hold on this is too cheap. For example slice of cake for 50p, with more than 50p worth of ingredients in it.

Coffee should be the same as tea. Our local church charges £1.

I don't know why you'd charge so much to people who were coming into your church building, it's not very welcoming! I go to church and we give people free food and drink all the time! Is the church so desperate for a little bit of money?

Personally I would make the squash free (first cup) , potentially increase prices a few pence elsewhere to cover the difference maybe £1.50 for tea or coffee.

I always think it’s nice for people to have the option of a basic hydrating drink for free and if you’re buying the giant cheap supermarket squash and making it relatively weak it’s going to cost a couple of pennies a cup at most.

I’d maybe bring the sandwich down to £2. Make coffee and tea same price.

I think your sandwiches/hot drinks are very well priced though, on the cheap side if I’m honest. Could definitely charge £3 for a decent hot sandwich and £2 a hot drink but that being says it’s nice to have a cheap menu for those in need

Your prices are fine, very good value. I hope it all goes well. As another PP said, there's always going to be someone who moans but that's just life!

Please don't charge any more, as some are suggesting. It's the church fair, not a commercial operation, so you don't have to factor in premises costs and labour for a start.

It's really important in a village with a mixed demographic that you don't massively exclude some parts of the village community, no matter how well off some people are. The church fair is a lovely opportunity for people to come together and have a catch up over a cuppa. You can create other opportunities within the fair for the better off to be generous, but please don't make it the teas and coffees. 😊

Good luck, and well done for volunteering.. 👏

I think the prices are fine if you've costed that you'll cover ingredients, plus some profit.

I like that your tea and coffee prices reflect that tea is a cheaper drink to make than coffee. As a tea drinker, I get very fed up with subsiding coffee drinkers when they're charged at the same price. Especially if yours is an area with mixed income, it's nice to have an affordable hot drink.

But this is a one-off church fair and fund-raising, so up to you.

It's the church fair, so is a fundraiser, the idea is to raise money.

But, short answer, yes, a lot of churches do desperately need the money.

Parish share, gas and electric bills, water bill etc. Our pipes needed maintenance and replacement and it's just cost £70k.

We also collect to give to other charities. We give, donate, raise, provide for others 99% of the time. Sometimes we need help too.

It's fine, don't overthink it. We charge the same, well not coffee but we only have (disgusting) instant. I recommend Lidl French blend for the coffee, it's £1.89 a packet

They seem just right to me.

Get rid of the 50p. £3 for the rolls, £1 for tea and coffee. Free weak squash for the kids.

Your prices are on the low side but whatever you do will be wrong. That said money does need to be raised to put in the heating, mend the roof and pay the clergy. Treat this as a learning opportunity as church fairs are always a mixture of fundraiser and community event and it is hard to balance that.

My top tip for a fair is to keep the cash float on the low side as people will try and steal it. Always have two people on the door if you are charging an entrance fee and move the cash to the safe at regular intervals.

Your prices are fine, although I would probably make tea and coffee the same price. Maybe offer hot chocolate too?

Half of Mumsnet are obviously on £100k salaries, but in the real world the rest of us are watching the pennies, so please don't put your prices up as others have suggested. Yes, it is a fundraiser, but the aim of a church event is also to bring the community together and be inclusive.

People on here saying "make it inclusive" don't realise just want it costs these days. Coffee is not cheap, add in buying milk, sugar and sweeteners, energy costs to heat water etc.

Church attendance is at all time lows. Most people are not christians any more so you may get fewer attendees than you think. If you are only making a few pence on each item it will be a very ineffective fundraiser. The kind of people you need to attract to raise money are more likely to be happier spending more to get a decent coffee than if you cut the price and offer instant instead.

What matters more to you? Bringing in some money, or making it accessible to the poorest locally? The two are not really compatible.