Soul Food Survey

What kind of taste do you leave with others? Do they find you bitter or overly sweet?

Instead of asking people what they think about your church, invite them to take part in a soul food survey. This fun, interactive survey provides fresh insights in a fun and eye opening way (uh, make that mouth).

Getting Started:

You'll want to survey various groups of people, as each will supply different yet important viewpoints about your org. Here are some ideas:

• Church/Org Staff
• Seekers/Supporters
• Members/Attendees
• Community at Large

What to do:

Set up a survey table. For the community at large, set your table up at a local grocer. For church members, it could be in the back of your worship center. Have various food items handy, each with distinct flavors.

Sample Taste Test Items:

• Sweet--butterscotch candies
• Salty-snack chips
• Spicy- salsa
• Bitter- dry herbs
• Flavorless—bottled water

Ask the person being surveyed what kind of taste your organization leaves “in their mouth”. Equate with the following taste code below:

Sweet Nobody can resist a genuine smile or heart-felt hug. But beware of artificial sweetness.		Tangy Full of life and the unexpected, maybe a bit too much for conservative tastes.
Salty Preservers of tradition. Younger audiences may have an unquenched thirst for truth		Bitter Judgmental tendencies overpower core strengths

Or Flavorless - No lasting impression

Digesting the Results:

Compare the answers with the various groups of people surveyed.

• Did everyone taste the same thing?
• Did the results surprise you?
• What did you expect them to taste!
• What changes will this test inspire you to make?

Finding out how you are perceived by your community and donors is a must for your organization's survival. If your programming doesn't measure up to taste expectations, you'll want to do some tweaking. Discover more fun ideas in the Crave Factor.