Do You Guys Think This Is Too Much Money or Am I Being Cheap?

Nope, you can't feed a family out for $15. I think you need to just pay it and be happy....doesn't sound outrageous to ma at all.

$15 per family seems quite reasonable to me. Per person would be a lot but not per family in my book. Likely people are volunteering their time and no one is looking to make a profit so they probably just want to have enough food. Some families likely are 6 people so that's only $2.50 per person for dinner. Not bad. And you don't HAVE to go...

Sounds fair to me.

My son's baseball team had lots of meals this season and we were only asked for $10 each time and I knew/know for a fact that Coach was picking up the tab on the rest...I didn't like that so we always gave a $20!

$15 for a family? No, that's not too much. How many people are in your family?

I have 6 in mine. I'd like to know where I can feed a family of 6 (or heck, even 4) for $15. I think it's reasonable. Even for pizza it's a good price.

$15. for a family? You mean 3 people? That is only $5.00 a person.... That is very fair of a price.

plates, cups, ice, drinks, flatware, main dish , side dish, dessert.
.40 x3 .20 x 3 .30 x3 .50 x3 .30x3 1.50 x 3 .75 x3 .50x3 = $13.15

This would be based on a plate with 1 hotdog (plain) and chips, with 1 drink and a cookie or 2.

Cheap cheap..

And so if this is per person and they are doing burgers, no cheese, with a side , drink and dessert.. It would probably come out to $7.00 per person.

BBQ, it would be about 10 - 12. 00 per person..

Lets also remember all of the driving shlepping etc..

Be VERY careful making comments about this type of thing, or they may decide since you know a way to bring down the price, YOU will be in charge of this event next time..

I was very involved in lots of events held for all of our daughters school and extracurricular activities.

When I was in charge, I was VERY careful about cost and quality. If after all of my work and time (for free as a volunteer) people questioned me, I would show them all of my notes the budget and then would grant them the privilege of being in charge of it the next year.

Seems very fair since it is the whole family it sounds like. Have your priced meat lately? for $15 maybe one steak per family(and I am not talking a great rib eye or fillet either). Food is high and going up with the drought this summer. Who is supplying drinks? Sides?
This is why some teams don't even do things like this. If you truly can't afford it, stay home.

I don't think it's too much when you consider they are apparently supplying meat, condiments, paper goods, and drinks.

I just read your SWH so I guess they aren't providing all the paper goods. But like you said, it is $15 per family; some folks may have larger families. I imagine they figured out the number of people and the cost of the supplies and divided that by the number of kids.

In any case, $15 doesn't seem like too much for an entire family.

$15 per family is a lot more than you would pay to go out to a restaurant. You'd even spend that much at a place like Subway or buying one large pizza to feed the family. I don't think it's too much at all.

Sounds super cheap too me.
Can you honestly take your family out to dinner for $15 anywhere? Maybe Taco Bell :(
Wait until he gets to high school, it's literally HUNDREDS of dollars requested. Not only from you but they expect you to solicit friends and family as well. This is in addition to uniforms, tournaments, etc. And most of the boys never even get to play, it's such a racket!!!

That sounds like a great deal to me!

Even for only 2 people that's only 7.50, and most people will have 3-5.

Something to know... In these events (my mum organized a LOT of them over the years), the team cost is usually MORE than people are asked to pay. Typically the. 'fair' price is decided on, stuff bought, and then a few of the more well off families chip in $50-$100 to help cover the overage, do that less well off families aren't asked to pay more than they can. SIMILARLY, big families often pay double or triple, on the sly.

The VERY few times there has been 'overage'? The team moms usually use it to defray trophy or uniform costs. Over 20 years of team sports, and hundreds of events, my mum only had 'extra' 2 or 3 times.

This is all done in 'team spirit'. Well off families KNOW not everyone can afford what they can, and large fanilies don't want to shame less well off large families.... But everyone wants everyone else to have a good time and be able to participate.

seems pretty fair to me. I spend more than that at the drive through at a fast food place.
If it was per person , then yeah that'd be too much.

Is it the coaches or a parent? They maybe requesting $15, which I think is cheap, for additional food costs, or if it's a parent, maybe they are getting a gift for the coaches.

$15 for a family sounds like a deal to me. A family can't go to a fast food restaurant for $15 or less.

My daughter's cheer banquet this past February was $50 per person for a so so meal. Any gifts were purchased separately.

ETA: After your SWH... Still.... when purchasing for families, meat can add up. Some people just eat more when they have the opportunity and $15 is a cheap meal.. Example... someone has a pizza party and plenty of pizzas were purchased but you always have someone who sees it as "free pizza" so they don't stop at the 2 pieces per person "norm" therefore they eat a whole pizza... When groups have parties for families like this, they have to plan for the families who act as if it is the only meal they've had in months.

Hmmm... do a lot of the players have large families? And is there any rental cost for the facility/picnic/pavilion area they are having it at?

My kids' karate school does picnics a couple of times a year. Their standard "rate" is $5 per family, plus bring your own drink and a side item to share. That's it. Oh.. and list how many hamburgers/hotdogs you think your family will eat. They provide the location (one is at a park with picnic pavilion, one is at the beach at a picnic pavilion), the burgers/hotdogs/buns/condiments, and paper products. Most families bring salad, fruit, slaw, chips, mac/cheese, desserts, or other "side" items like you would for any potluck.

Now, I don't know that all of the expenses are covered by the monies paid by the families. I would guess that some of it is paid from the karate school as an expense, and the $5 per family just helps defray SOME of the cost. I don't know.

But, $15 does sound a little high to me. So maybe there is some sort of fee they have to cover as well, for the venue. I don't think the locations we use have a fee, you just have to reserve it, or get there early and set up.

ETA: Ooh. something else I didn't think of: Could they be including something for the kids? Like a small trophy or a gift for the coach or something in the cost?

I just threw in $20 & brought a fruit platter. The $20 was for pizza, drinks, napkins, plates, utensils, dessert and gift for kids & coaches

nope. for our team party it was $5 pp but they said to not include toddlers. I counted my 4 yo and gave $20 for our family of 4. we also all brought things like tables, chairs, ez ups and like a side dish, salad cookies, etc. One mom was doing pretty much all of the work so I had no problem giving her the money. 2 families didn't end up being able to make it and I know they let her know they would be there but I dont know if they ended up paying her anything. They let her know day of and she had already bought everything. There was no way I wanted her to buy everything and prep everything and be shorted even if it wasnt by me.

I don't think that's too much for a family.

Sounds about right to me. They have to buy meat (which can add up), drinks, chips, potato salads and dessert. I would expect them to ask for that much.

And a pitch in item? Sounds a little steep to me also. If someone has 10 family members then maybe they should charge per person so it's fair to the people with only 3 or 4.

Even accounting plates and whatnot, there are few places I could feed my family of 5 for $15. I think that it's a reasonable sum, especially if they are only asking per family. It sounds like you don't know all the details, so ask again. Get specifics.

I think whoever is organizing this event is doing a very poor job. A family could be 1 person or 10 people. I also think it should be one way or the other - pay up or bring a contribution. Yes, in this case, it's too much.

I know that my 5 year old wants to play football so very very much but the local kids team offers no scholarships what so ever so we will never be able to pay the $50 registration fee plus the $50 clothing fee. If they asked for more money on top of that we'd have to say sorry. We can stay away if need be but we do not have any extra money. Maybe that's the situation some of the teams families are in and they need to make it up somewhere. I'd ask to be on the planning committee next time so you can help plan the extra stuff. Maybe you can interject some different ideas.

Check with whoever is organizing this and see if this also includes a gift for the coach/coaches. our families always gave a gift card to the coach at the end of the season.

It depends, are they having it catered or are they having to rent a park pavilion or something? If so, then it sounds fair. If they are just doing hot dogs and burgers and then everyone also has to bring an item, it does sound a little steep if it's just for the team (the kids). If it's for the kids plus their family, then I think that the price sounds fair.

OK, so I am a cheap person and I don't think that's too bad for a family of 3. I think they're alloting for bigger families to make sure they have enough.

Is this for the players and their families or only the players? That would probably make a difference in my answer.

$15 does not seem like too much to me. My kids are not into any sports yet, but I do think that seems reasonable. Maybe they have to pay for the location of the picnic? Remember it's not only food that they have to buy, but paper plates, napkins, utensils, maybe they are providing cookies or something for desert? Drinks too? I think $15 is totally appropriate.