Game-day BBQ or club canteen

Outdoor: weather matters

Sell sausages, pies, hot drinks and snacks at your own home games, tournaments or school events every week.

Typically raises

$300

$100–1,000 per eventest.

About $100 per organiser hour

Based on one home game day, 50-500 serves

Is it right for us?

Money: Under $500
Work: A few evenings
Helpers: 3–6 people
Lead time: 2–3 weeks
Red tape: Some

Everyone’s done it: every club canteen sells sausages; it's expected

People: 2-4 per shift
Organiser time: 2-4 hours per week once set up (estimate)
Lead time: 1-2 weeks for first run (estimate)
Up-front cost: $200. Stock for first day; equipment often already at clubrooms (estimate)
Risk: Low: stock carries over if stored properly.

Suits: Sports club or team

Less usual for: Primary or intermediate school, High school, Team going to a tournament or tour

When: Summer (Dec–Feb), Autumn (Mar–May), Winter (Jun–Aug), Spring (Sep–Nov), Start of the sports season

How big a job: A few evenings, 3–6 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Take about $500, pay about $200 of costs, and you keep about $300 per event: the typical result for one home game day, 50-500 serves.

From the typical figure on this page. Your result will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

Estimate per event: margin of about $2 per sausage serve times 50-500 serves depending on crowd. No NZ survey of canteen income found.

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Agree a simple fixed menu (4-6 items).
Check the 20-times rule and your council's view before committing to a weekly roster.
Set up a roster by team, one family per week.
Buy in bulk; record cost per item.
Price for at least $2 margin per item.
Take cards on a phone as well as cash.
Track takings per week to drop slow items.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Families to bake, give stock or take a shift on the stall.
Ask people to buy: People to come and buy on the day.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 1–2 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
PostersPosters at the school gate, the clubrooms and shop windows, with the date, place, price and how to pay.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.
Billboards and roadside signsYour school’s or club’s own sign by the road, a banner on the fence, or a sandwich board on the day for passers-by.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: NeededYour own grounds or hall
Landowner’s permission: NeededYes, in writing
Council permit: Not needed
Food rules: NeededRegister under the Food Act (usually with your council)
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: Not neededNot gambling
Health and safety: CheckA simple risk check and briefing
Insurance: CheckCheck your cover

A weekly canteen will likely pass the 20-times-a-year fundraising exemption in one season, so use MPI's My Food Rules tool or ask the council about registration. On council parks check the lease allows food sales.

Make more from it

Meat raffle after the game
$50-400 a week (estimate)
the crowd is already there and fed
Hot drinks and soup in winter
often $1-2 margin a cup (estimate)
cold sideline parents buy more than once
Tap-to-pay on a phone
recovers card-only sales (estimate)
many parents carry no cash

What you can get donated

Sausages and bread from a club sponsor; urns, BBQ from members.

Tips

A weekly canteen is the most dependable small earner for clubs because the crowd is already there (estimate).
Ask your club sponsor to supply sausages as part of their package.

Watch out for

Volunteer fatigue; rotate by team.
Registration may be needed once you exceed 20 fundraising sales occasions a year.

Free tools for this

Volunteer roster plannerPrefilled with the usual roles (cook, server / cashier and runner / restock) in 2-hour shifts.
Cash float and takings counterCount takings in pairs and bank the same day.
Checklist for any ideaBefore, on the day and after, built from this idea’s own steps and rules.

Typical rules

MPI: clubs serving food do not need a food control plan if selling food is not the main purpose of the event, e.g. nibbles at a games night.
MPI: if you supply catered meals or sell food 'like at a club bar' you are likely to need to register.
Counts toward the 20-times-a-year fundraising limit if run as fundraising; a weekly canteen will exceed 20 in a season, so use the MPI 'My Food Rules' tool or ask your council (MPI).

Check the details

Selling food · MPI: Fundraising and community event food safety rules

Sources

mpi.govt.nz

Researched October 2026. All fundraising ideas

* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide