Before

Go to your local farmers market, groceries, bakeries, and local farms, and ask what they throw out and when. Most will be glad somebody wants it. Aim for fruit, vegetables, and bread only, and agree a collection time the morning of the event so nothing sits around.

Set your own rules for what you accept and say them out loud to donors: nothing from a bin, nothing spoiled, nothing that needs refrigeration you don't have, no meat, no dairy, and no cooked leftovers.

Find a public spot with good foot traffic and get permission to be there: a market square, a car park, or a churchyard. Then check your local rules on serving food to the public, since some places want a simple permit or a food hygiene certificate for whoever runs the pot.

Set the day up in Plurality and use the Needs and Offers to ask folks to bring stuff for the gathering, from big pots to knives to chopping boards. Ask for Volunteers as well. Print your flyer and invite widely.

During

Put the music on before you put the knives out. The order matters, because a crowd walking past a quiet row of tables sees a chore, but the music makes it a party.

Set the chopping tables where people already walk, not tucked away. Passersby are the point, and the whole thing is designed so somebody can stop for ten minutes on their way home, chop half a cabbage, and feel like they were part of it.

Do a thirty second knife briefing and keep an experienced cook at each table. Wash everything properly, cut away anything soft or bruised, and cook the soup thoroughly and hot. Keep a separate table for sorting, so questionable produce never reaches a chopping board.

Then serve it free. And keep it a party throughout. Costumes, face paint for the kids, or karaoke while the pot simmers. The show is what makes people stay for the meal instead of taking a bowl and drifting off.

After

Weigh what you rescued and announce the number. Then tell the donors what their surplus became, with a photograph. A trader who sees the crates he was about to skip turn into two hundred fed neighbors becomes a permanent supplier, and that relationship is worth more than the single event.

Photograph the tables mid-chop and invite folks to record any other Moments.

Join World Disco Soup Day.