New Amsterdam Exterior Portable Dining Society - Primer

The New Amsterdam Exterior Portable Dining Society (NAEPDS) is a meta-organization of picnicking enthusiasts based in and around the New York metropolitan area, and as such exists wherever people invoke its name and enact its principles and protocols. Candidly it is just a pompous-sounding name for an unspecific loose affiliation of fans of outdoor social events involving BYO food, that purports to lend an aire of refinement and significance to these activities.

Functionally the NAEPDS, with its mandate, collective knowledge base, and techniques, provides a framework for an ad-hoc assemblage of contributors, where there is no formal authority, to produce a better-than-average picnic. Recognizing that people have differing quotients of expertise, time, and resources per instance, NAEPDS protocol offers a framework for the distribution of effort in supplying the consumables.

There are 3 broad roles which participants will, for the most part, fall into automatically:

Feature.
These are people who can and will make and bring something that could be thought of as a main dish, or basis, or killer app. that will be shared by the entire group. Deviled eggs, chicken salad sandwiches, homemade cupcakes, St. Germaine cocktails, strawberry daiquiris, etc. They are usually homemade, on-site-assembled items that have been developed and vetted over many occasions of exterior portable dining. These contributors should broadcast their plans to the group so that others can plan around them. Perhaps by posting to whatever medium is used for coordination (e.g. the FB event wall or e-mail chain.)

Utility. 
These are people who will provide something that is necessary for any picnic, so that people bringing Feature items don't have to (as well.) E.g. Ice, plates, cups, flatware, napkins, paper towels, blankets, water/juice/soda, also in some cases, where necessary, the staking of territory. This role is usually assigned to people who either can not put in the time/expertise to make something, or attend at the last minute, or are uniquely suited to the particular contribution (e.g. can get to a limited-space first-come-first-serve event early.)

Ancillary. 
These are people who will make and bring something that compliments or supports one or more of the Feature items. e.g. Alcohol for cocktails, fruit, crudites, bread, crackers, spreads, and anything specifically requested. In general these are generic, versatile items that the event can survive without if one or two don't make it.

For Utility and Ancillary items a technique has been developed to aide in the optimization of provision, known as Coordinated Crowdsource Protocol (CCP).