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Reno Work Weekend Brief

The goals of Food Team at Work Weekend are to clean, to inventory, and to test equipment to scope any necessary repairs.

Reno Work Weekend Team: Alejandro, John, Brooke, Ben

Clean and Inventory

Cleaning and inventory can be bundled into one task and will be described together.

Task list:

  • Find the Food Fort and secure entry
  • Pull everything (within reason) out of the Food Fort and lay it out on the ground outside. In past years Turtles have found rotten surprises and items that should not have been left behind after the Burn - do a sweep through the Fort once emptied
    • Pots, pans, supplies, shelf stable foods, spices - yes
    • Bolted down ice machine, large scale equipment, shelving - no
  • Organize the stuff pulled out of the Food Fort into categories "piles", as they seem to make sense (e.g. cooking utensils, spices, cleaning supplies, etc.)
  • Dispose of any items that are obviously broken, unsalvageable, unnecessary (duplicative), useless. This will require exercising some discretion and common sense
    • Make note of items that are disposed of which may need to be replaced (e.g. unsalvageable but no adequate duplicate in stock)
    • Make note of items which we do not possess but you think we should procure ahead of the Burn
  • Note items and counts in inventory spreadsheet, as we did for 2024, in 2025 Inventory tab. I am leaving last year's inventory in place in case it is helpful or a guide for this year and will leave it to you to decide whether it is easier to wipe it clean and start fresh or update line by line
    • SPECIAL REQUEST: please test and note which pots and pans work on the induction stove vs not. We will want to clearly know so that we can delineate the equipment between the new self-serve Kitchenette vs what's in the Food Fort for Food Team
  • Pack away items into numbered and labeled see-through boxes, noting the box number which the item was packed into on the 2025 Inventory tab. Before packing the box, take a photo of the box and the contents which are about to go in as this will be helpful during Build Week and during the Burn

As you are going through the process of taking and fulfilling inventory, wipe down and clean surfaces, equipment and the Food Fort as it sensible and logical. The Food Fort should be in pretty good shape following the 2024 Burn (fingers crossed, knock on wood, hoping I don't jinx it) and the cleaning should be pretty minimal, but you will be able to evaluate the situation once you are on the ground and have eyes on the truck.

Testing

Part of the task during Build Week will be to ensure the Food Fort is fully operational and to order and coordinate any necessary repairs before driving it into Playa. If we know about issues or broken equipment earlier (e.g. now) this is very helpful in giving us more time to have the issues addressed without the panicked rush of the impending Burn.

It is not strictly necessary to test every item in the Food Fort. The items are listed by dependency and are in order from the most important to least important to test. By test we mean ensure that the equipment will power on / run once plugged in.

Electricity:

Requires hooking up the generator. The generator should be inside the Food Fort.

To test:

  • Lights and power working in the Food Fort
  • Microwave
  • Walk in fridge
  • Freezer
  • Ice machine (also requires water hooked up)

The freezer and the ice machine are both highly liable to breakage and have a history of breaking down in the year between Burns and sometimes also on Playa. If all you can test and verify are these items, it will be a win.

Propane:

The Food Fort should have two propane tanks attached to it, of which at least one should have propane. It should be relatively straight forward to get the propane hooked up and turned on although it requires someone who knows how. Alejandro may remember from '24 Burn or ask for help from someone at Work Weekend.

To test:

  • Griddle
  • Stove - burners and oven
Water:

This will be the most difficult utility to connect as it requires getting a hose up to the truck and hooked in. If possible, it's a very nice to have. Imagine the heroic stories you will tell if it works!

To test:

  • Ice maker (also requires electricity)
  • Water system (sinks, etc.)
  • Drainage, disposal and leaks
Following testing:

Log what was possible to hook in and achieve, what was tested, the results of testing and any repairs required.

Resources

You will likely have questions and run into snags and need help from experienced Turtles. Even experienced Turtles don't know everything and they themselves may need extra help. When you need help, the following points of contact are yours. They are listed in first line of support first and then in escalation order:

  • Alejandro - previously Food Team Turtle and knows the boiler plate basic workings of the Food Fort
  • Romain - also previously Food Team Turtle, 2x Turtle, may have additional knowledge but may be busy coordinating Reno Work Weekend to focus on Food lane fully
  • JohnSpacemaster (Spacemaster)John) - previously Food Team Turtle, knowledgeable in how things workwork, find him around the Tool Fort (which he is leading). 
  • Joel (Jetpack) - knows pretty much every thing, bother him last when all other avenues have failed

Also - Me! (Christophe) I'm available all weekend for you to reach out and will be monitoring Discord to the extent any activity is there. If you need to reach me my number is 415-269-1339. Don't get stuck, don't hesitate to reach out.

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