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2026 Reno Work Weekend Brief

The goals of Food Team at the Reno work weekend are to clean, inventory, test equipment, and scope any repairs or upgrades needed before food build and drive-in.

This page is adapted from the 2025 Reno Work Weekend Brief and updated for 2026.

Dates And Goal

  • Friday 2026-05-08: get eyes on the Food Fort / food truck, especially the ice maker situation, counter-space options, utility access, and any obvious repair needs.
  • Saturday 2026-05-09: empty, clean, inventory, test, and repack the Food Fort. Goal is to finish the main Food Fort work in one day if conditions allow.
  • Sunday 2026-05-10: follow up on equipment/refrigeration options if needed. Current research suggests the obvious Reno restaurant-equipment stores may be closed Sundays, so call ahead and consider visiting during Saturday hours if in-person shopping is important.

2026 Updates

  • The Food Fort has an ice maker that likely needs to be removed and replaced with additional counter space or another useful food-team surface.
  • The team should scope the ice maker on Friday/Saturday before deciding whether removal can happen during the weekend or needs a work order.
  • The Food Fort requires electricity testing and ideally water testing.
  • The existing four camp Dometics are not sufficient for 2026 refrigeration needs.
  • Food team should look for additional refrigeration, ideally a large side-loading or glass-view commercial refrigerator rather than only adding more Dometics.
  • Ingredient sourcing should default to professional suppliers where practical: Bonanza, Costco Business Center, US Foods, and restaurant/food-service suppliers. Instacart should be an exception path, not the main plan.
  • Public drinks are being planned by the mayor/LNT side of the house, separate from the core food-team offering. Food may still need to receive and inventory drink items during Reno food build.

Clean And Inventory

Cleaning and inventory can be bundled into one task and should be done together.

Task list:

  • Find the Food Fort and secure entry.
  • Pull everything reasonable out of the Food Fort and lay it out outside.
    • Pull out: pots, pans, supplies, shelf-stable foods, spices, smallwares, loose equipment, cleaning supplies.
    • Leave in place unless specifically scoped: bolted-down equipment, large installed equipment, shelving, ice maker, generator, utility systems.
  • Sweep through the Food Fort once emptied. Look for food, trash, broken items, damaged packaging, evidence of leaks, pests, or anything that should not have stayed in the truck after the Burn.
  • Clean and demoop Food Fort floors, drawers, shelving, storage areas, fridge, freezer, griddle, stovetop, and other equipment as sensible.
  • Organize everything pulled from the Food Fort into clear piles or categories, such as:
    • cooking utensils
    • pots and pans
    • serving items
    • spices
    • cleaning supplies
    • shelf-stable foods
    • equipment and appliance parts
    • unknown / needs decision
  • Dispose of items that are clearly broken, unsalvageable, unnecessary, duplicative, expired, or unsafe to keep.
  • Record disposed items that may need replacement.
  • Record missing items that should be procured before the Burn.
  • Record inventory into the 2026 inventory destination once confirmed. If the 2026 inventory sheet is not ready, use the 2025 inventory structure as a reference and avoid overwriting prior-year data without an explicit decision.
  • For pots and pans, test and record which work on the induction stove.
  • Pack items back into numbered and labeled boxes.
  • Before packing each box, photograph the box contents and record the box number/location in inventory.

As the inventory happens, clean surfaces and equipment while they are accessible. If the Food Fort condition is worse than expected, pause and document the issue rather than forcing a full reset without enough information.

Ice Maker Removal Scope

The ice maker should be treated as a 2026 scoping item, not just a normal appliance test.

Scope and document:

  • exact location and footprint
  • whether it is bolted down or otherwise fixed in place
  • electrical connection
  • water supply connection
  • drain connection
  • clearance around the unit
  • whether removal can be done safely with the tools and people available
  • what counter or work-surface replacement would fit the space
  • whether a work order, repair person, or additional materials are needed

Take photos and measurements before moving anything. If the team is not confident about water, electrical, or structural impacts, leave the unit in place and create a clear follow-up work order.

Testing

Part of the work weekend is to learn whether the Food Fort is operational and what repairs are needed. Testing does not need to cover every item, but the critical systems should be prioritized.

Log what was possible to hook up, what was tested, the result, and any repair or follow-up required.

Electricity

Requires hooking up the generator or another confirmed power source. The generator should be inside the Food Fort.

Test:

  • lights and power in the Food Fort
  • microwave
  • walk-in fridge / refrigerator
  • freezer
  • outlets needed for food prep and refrigeration
  • ice maker power only as part of removal/scoping

The freezer and refrigeration are high-priority because failure here creates major food-plan risk.

Propane

The Food Fort should have propane tanks attached or available. Only test propane equipment with someone who knows the Food Fort propane setup.

Test:

  • griddle
  • stove burners
  • oven

Water

Water is a high-value test if a hose can be run to the truck and connected safely.

Test:

  • sinks
  • water system
  • drainage
  • disposal
  • leaks
  • ice maker water and drain connections only as part of removal/scoping

Additional Refrigeration

The camp currently has four Dometics, but that is not enough for the 2026 food plan.

Target equipment:

  • large commercial refrigerator
  • preferably side-loading or glass-view for fast access and visibility
  • enough capacity to reduce dependence on small coolers/Dometics
  • power needs compatible with Food Fort/camp electrical plan
  • dimensions and door swing compatible with transport, storage, and playa layout
  • easy enough to clean and inventory during food build

Candidate sourcing paths:

Action for the weekend:

  • Call or visit Reno restaurant-equipment stores during open hours.
  • Check whether a suitable used commercial refrigerator is available.
  • Confirm dimensions, power, condition, transport logistics, price, and pickup/delivery options.
  • If stores are closed Sunday, use Sunday for online comparison and make a weekday follow-up plan.

Procurement Notes

For 2026 ordering, default to professional or wholesale supply sources where possible.

Preferred planning sources:

  • Bonanza
  • Costco Business Center
  • US Foods
  • restaurant supply stores
  • WebstaurantStore for equipment comparison or online fallback

Before order lock, review the 2025 order sheets and supplier notes to understand where food came from last year and why US Foods was not used more heavily. The goal is to use US Foods intelligently if it is useful, or to explicitly understand why it is not.

Avoid Instacart as a primary purchasing strategy. It may make sense only for exceptional gaps, late substitutions, or genuinely unavailable items.

Drinks Handoff

Public drink offerings are being planned separately by the mayor/LNT side of the house.

Food team should still track whether it needs to:

  • receive drink items during Reno food build
  • inventory drink items
  • store any drink items temporarily in Food Fort or food-team refrigeration
  • separate drink storage from core food-team ingredients

This should be handled as a handoff item, not merged into the main food menu unless camp leadership decides otherwise.

Follow-Up

  • Create or confirm the 2026 inventory destination before Saturday inventory begins.
  • Capture photos and measurements of the ice maker and possible replacement counter area.
  • Decide whether ice maker removal can be done directly or requires a work order.
  • Capture refrigeration requirements and candidate purchase options.
  • Add any equipment gaps to the 2026 order/procurement list.
  • Bring Food Fort findings back into the next food subgroup meeting.

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