How many hundreds??....that's important to know!!
Our local Kiwinas does pancake breakfasts on a regular basis... Some where they rent portable gas pancake griddles and a grill for sausage. I can't tell you where to do that....but your yellow pages and rentals ought to provide some info.
No kitchen at all??
The size of the gas griddle ( often called a flat top) will depend on how much help you have and how long you will run the event. You recruite help as "flippers" and servers and grillers ( you can do sausage on a propane grill and keep it hot...) and servers and clearers.
Figure out how big a crowd you will have....will you sell tickets ahead? Then figure out how many batches of pancakes you need to make....and how many pounds of sausage.
Of course you know the best way to cook for less is to make ia all from scratch....not too hard....premix the flour and baking powder and sugar and measure out into batches and add eggs, oil and milk.
BUT....you may be able to find donations....call Aunt Jemima and bisquick and any local company you can think of. We did a fund raiser a few years back and Berilla donated a boat load of pasta.
See if you can get donated sausage....from a meat locker...or perhaps a farmer would donate a hog to have ground....for the good will.
Then look for donated syrup!! And coffee.....and paper goods.
First of all you need to define your crowd....then have at it....
I helped feed the bikers for RAGBRAI a few years back....more than 800...but we planned for a possible 1000.
If you need to talk more, email me.
Linda C

I've never prepped such a breakfast, but I've eaten hundreds of them.... It may be helpful to cook the sausages ahead of time in an oven, and keep them warm in chafing dishes on the serving line. Sausages take longer to cook than pancakes and you don't want to hold up the line waiting on them.

You do need the portable propane griddles that Lindac recommends. No substitutes.

Ilana, call Hall's rental in Skokie or Niles. they will have what you need on equipment. And the Dollar Store for plates, etc. or Sam's Club. You can check with other schools and church's/temples for equipment loans too.

Also contact food service companies. They may donate in exchange for advertising, some even will send a crew of cooks with equipemnt to do the job for you. For juices/milk, call the ice company and see what they say for some free PR.

As LindaC mentioned, first you have to figure out how many hundreds. And how long you're going to serve, will it be 7 am - 9 am? Or 6 am to 10 am. The longer you serve, the more customers and the more supplies.

Here Sam's Club, the local Meijer and Gordon Food Service often donate supplies for such things, I'd hit up whoever is in your area that has a reputation for supporting the schools and communities. I think Target also has a program.

If you can't get them as donations, the Dollars stores are a good route to go for disposable plates, cups, forks, etc. Sam's Club here sells big bags of pancake mix too, as well as large containers of syrup.

Condiments? I'd say butter/margarine and syrup, keep it simple. Drinks here are usually coffee, tea, milk and juice, sometimes not the milk.

I also agree that cooking sausage ahead of time and just keeping it warm is the way to goo, then it's just flipping the pancakes. And since Peppi is right in your area, I'm sure she knews exactly where to rent equipment.

Good luck, and if yu have any questions, ask away. Oh, and you need as many volunteers as you can scrouge up.

Annie

I believe Minute Maid is owned by PepsiCo -- so try your local Pepsi Bottling Co for possible donations of orange juice!

Donna

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions and ideas.

I tried to reach my friend to talk to her but she's gone awol. Must be the stress of planning this event. J/k, I think she is on a last summer hurrah before school goes back next week.

I'm pretty sure that once I talk to her we'll have more questions.

I know every place is different but here a permit is required for such a fundraiser. Might want to give your town a call & check. Would be a bummer to be all ready to start serving & then find out you needed a $10 permit.

Sounds like a good fundraiser. People love pancake breakfasts! Here, there is usually one grill making cute little dollar-size for the kiddos. Senior citizens, in my area, also seem to prefer those.

Another option here is chocolate chips scattered in the batter - usually a $.50 upgrade & only uses a teaspoon of chips so it adds to the profits quickly.

Have fun!

/tricia

We used to do large pancake breakfasts at our boat club.

As everyone says sausages hold well. We kept them in large tin foil fans on BBQ's set low.

Pancake batter is a bit tricky in my view. You have to have the batter a bit thinner than you might normally make it because it tends to thicken as it sits. Either that or be prepared to add some water or milk to the batter as you need to use it.

Rented flat tops and lots of volunteer "flippers" are a must. Set up some cafeteria style tables behind each "flipper". Have pitchers of batter ready to go plus additional flipping tools, marg or oil for the grills, paper towels and a bowl of clean water.

Have volunteers keep these tables replenished. The flippers should not have to ask for or fetch anything.

Serving is another thing. You can have the flippers serve the pancakes to the customer but have someone else dish out the sausages from a different spot, say the end of the pancake line or you can have a pile of sausages available on the flat top and have the flipper serve both. If you do this make sure there is someone replenishing those sausages at all times.

I preferred to have them served separately.

Good luck hope you make lots of $$$$

PS Annie, I've never had trouble holding sausages. They have never turned to goo ! ;) LOL

I would also suggest having some sugar free syrup available. And don't forget napikins and cups for beverages.

Lots of good advice. Pay lots of attention to Chase's post.

One of my favorite large number local catering ventures was doing the Senior Citizen Holiday dinner. I used Boy Scouts as servers and runners. For your event I think it would be great to use Boy and Girl Scouts to do all the refilling, running, and such. I'd also suggest having one assistant for the flipper[s] so they can go get whatever is needed. I also think it's best to mix the batter throughout the service, so have people to do that. Putting the batter into four half gallon pitchers so they can be just poured onto the grill works nicely, so have someone ready to refill the pitchers as they start to use the last one. Make enough batter to fill the pitchers twice, so when they refill the pitchers the second time, it's time for the batter mixer to make another batch. Feel free to ask any questions about how this works.

Sugar free syrup will be asked for as well as sugar substitutes for hot drinks. Best of luck.

Gee, thanks for noticing, Sharon. (grin) I think pretty much everyone knows I mean "good", not "goo", right? just for the record? Oh, and my shift key isn't doing so well either!

I made that post at work on lunch break and I'm trying to convince the county that I need a new keyboard, I have some sticky keys. But, they say, we just bought that keyboard. In 1996!

Annie