Sausage sizzle fundraiser NZ: how to book and what it makes

The sausage sizzle is the most Kiwi fundraiser there is. A trestle table, a hot plate, a queue of weekend shoppers and a tin of coins. It isn't glamorous, but it works, and almost anyone can run one.

The catch is the booking. Every store runs its own system, the good weekends go months ahead, and some stores set your price for you. This guide covers how to book each chain, what a 400-sausage day costs and makes, who you need on the roster, and how to squeeze a bit more out of the day.

How to book each chain

The one rule that holds everywhere: you book with the store, not head office. Ask two or three stores at once and take the first good date.

Bunnings

• Who to ask. Each store has an Activities Organiser. Bunnings' NZ community page points groups to an online enquiry form that goes to that person. If you can't find it, ask at your store's service desk. Touch NZ's guide says the store wants to know who you are, what you're raising money for and who your local contacts are, set out on your group's letterhead.
• Lead time. Long. Touch NZ says slots are "typically booked out up to six months in advance". The Red Cross sizzle guide says contact the store at least a month ahead. Ask to go on the cancellation list as well as the waitlist.
• What they supply. Bunnings says groups bring volunteers and some supplies and the store "helps with the rest". Get the list in writing, because it varies by store.
• Scale. Bunnings says it has helped raise more than $13.6 million through over 29,400 community activities in five years, across 51 NZ locations. That works out at about $460 per activity, though it counts every kind of activity, not only sizzles.

Mitre 10

Mitre 10 stores are individually owned, so each owner writes its own rules. Two current examples show how much they differ.

• Smiths Mitre 10 MEGA (criteria, August 2026): a maximum of two bookings per group per year, no back-to-back weekends, and one public-holiday weekend a year. There's a $20 bond, paid two weeks ahead, and two weeks' notice to cancel. Sausages must sell at $2.50 and bacon butties at $4. Plain pre-cooked sausages only, and no baked goods. The store supplies the BBQ, gas, utensils, foil trays, gloves, cleaning gear, a fire extinguisher, water and toilets. You bring the food, float, chilly bins, serviettes and aprons. Access is from 7.30am, cooking starts by 8.30am and clean-up is done by 5.30pm.
• Mitre 10 MEGA Te Rapa and Ruakura (Hamilton booking page): an online form per store. They supply the BBQ unit, gas, fire extinguisher and cleaning products, plus a gazebo at Ruakura. You bring at least two adults, the food, tongs, oil, gloves, a float (they suggest $100) and chilly bins with enough ice to keep food below 5°C. Bacon and eggs are allowed, and so are raffle tickets.

Christchurch MEGA stores have published the same two-a-year limit. Expect it wherever you go.

PAK'nSAVE, New World and Woolworths

Supermarket sizzles happen outside the store at the manager's discretion, usually on your own BBQ.

• PAK'nSAVE. Stores are locally owned. Its FAQ says community groups should contact their local store directly through the online contact form.
• New World. Same model. Its FAQ says to find your store's contact details through the store finder, or ask at the service desk.
• Woolworths. Its community page says it supports local schools with sausage sizzles, but we found no published booking process. Ask at the store.

None of the three publishes lead times or limits, so ask the store. Red Cross suggests a short email to book a spot outside the store.

If you'd rather not deal with a store at all, a game-day BBQ or club canteen on your own grounds does the same job with a crowd you already have.

What a 400-sausage day makes

This is a busy store on a fine Saturday. All figures are estimates, so check prices with your own butcher or cash-and-carry.

Add 120 cold drinks bought at about 90c each ($108). Sold at $2.50, they clear about $190.

Three reality checks. First, check whether your store sets the price, as Smiths does. Second, 400 is a good day. Our sausage sizzle page puts a typical day at $250 to $900, and rain or a quiet store can halve sales. Buy for 400, plan to freeze what's left, and don't buy retail on the morning. Third, card fees on a tap-to-pay phone come out of your takings, and some stores say you cover them.

The roster

Red Cross says a sizzle typically runs 9.00am to 4.30pm in two-hour shifts, and most stores want at least three volunteers on at all times. Four is comfortable.

Each shift needs:

• 2 cooks (adults)
• 1 assembler for bread, onions and sauce
• 1 cashier who doesn't touch food

That's 10 to 16 shift slots. Put your strongest cooks on the lunch shift. Some stores cap numbers (Smiths allows four in the BBQ hut) and set ages (Smiths says children must be 10 or older and supervised by an adult). Our volunteer roster planner builds this for you.

The float and the banking

Bring a float of at least $50 in mixed coins (Red Cross), or $100 if you're at a $2.50 price where every sale needs change. At $3, stock up on $1 and $2 coins. Add tap-to-pay on a phone, because plenty of shoppers carry no cash.

At the end of the day, two people count the takings together, take the float out first, write the total down and both sign it. Bank it the same day. The cash counter and event budget on our tools page do the sums.

Food safety and the Food Act

Under the Food Act 2014, a group can usually sell food to fundraise without registering, up to 20 times in a calendar year. The food must still be safe and suitable. A weekly club canteen can pass 20 in one season, so count the weeks.

On the day:

• Keep raw sausages in chilly bins with ice, below 5°C.
• Cook them right through, and keep raw and cooked apart with separate tongs.
• Wear gloves, tie back long hair, and don't eat or vape at the stall.
• The cashier handles money and nothing else.

The detail is on our food rules page.

Getting stock donated or discounted

Stock is the biggest cost, so ask early. A local butcher who donates or sells at cost can save you $200 to $400. Supermarkets are worth asking too, because every PAK'nSAVE and New World is locally owned and takes requests at store level.

• Ask for something specific: "20 kg of sausages for our BBQ on the 14th", not "any support".
• Ask a month ahead, by name, with your group's details.
• Offer something back: a sign on the stall, a thank-you post, a mention in the newsletter.
• Thank them publicly after the day, and tell them what the money bought.

See in-kind sponsorship and business donations for how to make the ask.

Ways to lift the takings

• Cold drinks. No cooking, good margin, and a hot day sells a lot of them. Check your store allows them first.
• A baking table. A cake stall beside the BBQ might add $100 to $300 (estimate). Smiths bans baked goods, so ask.
• A raffle. Hamilton's MEGA stores allow raffle tickets at the stall. A small raffle with prizes and ticket value both $500 or less is Class 1. Bigger ones, up to $5,000 of prizes, are Class 2 and must be run by a society such as a club or school. DIA's rules say prizes must be worth at least 20% of the value of all tickets printed. A meat tray or a printed-ticket raffle suits a BBQ crowd.
• Entertainment memberships. Flyers at the stall can bring in about $15 a sale (estimate) through an Entertainment fundraiser.
• No hard sell. Stores like Smiths say customers may be asked once, and a no is a no. A friendly "sausage for the under-12s rugby?" does the work.

Where to next

• Sausage sizzle at a hardware store
• Game-day BBQ or club canteen
• Meat raffle club night
• Bake sale or cake stall
• Meat pack pre-order
• School gala or fair