Inexpensive Food and Drinks for a Graduation Party?

Oh yes, Mitchell Kernels. My two daughters graduated from there many in the eighties. When my grandaughter graduated from high school in Sioux Falls, they served sloppy joes, potato salad, cole slaw, and I made a huge batch of pasta salad. Then they had the cake, coffee, tea, and they obtained one of those big coolers from McDonalds and served the orange drink that comes with the cooler. I can't remember how you get the large cooler, as to weather or not it is free or minimal charge. As far as the cake goes, you can just make a couple 9x13 cakes and frost them with gold colored frosting and then use black frosting and make some squiggles on the cakes.

To get a true gold frosting and a black frosting, you would have to use the paste type food coloring. The sloppy joes would be about as low cost as you can get, and you could make that up in batches at different times and freeze it until you need it. Or else the night before make it in several slow cookers or else even the morning of graduation, if you have your meat, etc. pre-cooked, all you would have to do is get the stuff in the slow cookers early enough so that it would be warm whatever time the party starts.

Recipe for Gold colored punch

2 Pkgs. Kool Aid--orange and lemonade flavors
1-1/2 cups sugar 2 qts. water
1-12 oz. can frozen lemonade

1 can pineapple juice(I assume the large size)
ginger ale, 7-up, or squirt
Disslove Kool-Aid and sugar in water, add frozen lemonade and pineapple juice and mix well. Add the sodas when ready to serve.