Gotta be honest, I'm not sure this is the big lesson everyone wants it to be. Forty plates dropping to twelve could just mean the first Friday had a ton of looky-loos and out of town helpers, not that people hated hot meals. And a pantry holding at 14 could just be the same 14 folks who show up for anything free in their own basement. You said yourself the whole thing "got calmer," which mostly sounds like fewer volunteers had to do less work. Maybe the real takeaway is simpler: monthly events are easier to keep going than weekly ones, because weekly anything burns people out. That doesn't mean the pantry model is better, it just means you picked a schedule nobody had to stress about. I'd want to see what happens over a whole year before calling it a win.

My grandma taught me to salt the water right when it starts boiling, before the pasta goes in. She said it needs time to mix in so every bite gets some. I tried the after thing once and the salt just sat on top, kinda clumpy. Now I wait for the first bubbles, dump a big handful in, then add the pasta a minute later. Works every time and nobody has ever told me the food tastes bland.