If they have shares in a sacrifice, is it essential for each one to eat some of his sacrifice?
Question

                There is a charity in our country which organises for seven people to share in a sacrifice, such as a calf or a cow, then the charity takes care of slaughtering it and distributing the meat to the poor in each village. Then each individual takes his share of the sacrifice after the rest has been distributed. Please note that the value of each person's share is 950 pounds. If we assume that we collect the money for seven sacrifices and we have forty-nine people, and it is very difficult to find a place to slaughter the sacrifices within a short period of time so that each person may be given something of his sacrifice, my question is: is it possible to collect the share from, for example, three sacrifices and distribute that to the people involved, and then leave the rest of the sacrificial meat to be distributed to the poor? Or is it essential that each person take from his own sacrifice?.
Praise be to Allah.
      Firstly: 

    It is permissible to share in a sacrifice if it is a camel or 
    a cow. 

    It is permissible for seven people to share in one sacrifice 
    of a cow or a camel. 

    It is proven that the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with 
    them) shared in sacrifices (hadiy), seven sharing a camel or a cow, in Hajj 
    and ‘Umrah. 

    Muslim (1318) narrated that Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allah (may Allah 
    be pleased with him) said: In the year of al-Hudaybiyah we offered the 
    sacrifice with the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
    him), a camel on behalf of seven and a cow on behalf of seven. 

    According to another report: We set out with the Messenger of 
    Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) entering ihraam for Hajj, 
    and the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told 
    us to share (in sacrificing) camels and cattle, every seven of us sharing an 
    animal. 

    For more information, please see the answer to question no.
    45757. 

    Secondly: 

    It is Sunnah to eat from the sacrifice but it is not 
    obligatory according to the majority of fuqaha’. 

    In Zaad al-Mustaqni‘ it says: It is Sunnah to eat one 
    third, give one third as gifts, and give one third in charity. 

    Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said in 
    his commentary: The words “It is Sunnah to eat one third, give one third as 
    gifts, and give one third in charity” mean it is prescribed, not in the 
    sense that it is obligatory, but that it is mustahabb to divide it into 
    thirds and eat one third, give one third as gifts, and give one third in 
    charity. 

    The difference between gifts and charity is that what is 
    given as an act of friendship is a gift, because of what it says in the 
    hadeeth, “Give one another gifts and you will love one another.” And what is 
    given so as to draw close to Allah is charity. Based on this, charity is 
    given to one who is in need and a gift is given to one who is independent of 
    means. 

    Dividing it into thirds, i.e., one third for eating, one 
    third for giving as gifts and one third for giving in charity, is done so 
    that people of all classes or levels will benefit from his sacrifice. Eating 
    it oneself is mentioned first because Allah mentioned it first in the verse 
    in which He said (interpretation of the meaning): “Then eat thereof and 
    feed therewith the poor having a hard time” [al-Hajj 22:28]. 

    With regard to the words “It is Sunnah to eat”, the apparent 
    meaning is that if he gives all of it in charity, there is nothing wrong 
    with that and he is not sinning. This is based on the fact that eating from 
    one’s sacrifice is Sunnah, as is the view of the majority of scholars. 

    Some of the scholars said: Rather eating from it is 
    obligatory and he is sinning if he does not do that, because Allah has 
    enjoined it and given it precedence over charity; and because the Prophet 
    (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), during the Farewell Pilgrimage, 
    enjoined that a piece be taken from each sacrificial animal and placed in a 
    pot and cooked, then he ate some of its meat and drank some of its broth. 
    They said: To go to the effort of taking one hundred pieces from one hundred 
    camels and cooking them in a pot and eating from that indicates that the 
    command in the verse is given in the sense of it being obligatory. And 
    because this comes under the heading of enjoying the blessings of Allah, so 
    it is included in the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
    upon him): “The days of al-Tashreeq (the 11th, 12th 
    and 13th of Dhu’l-Hijjah) are days of eating, drinking and 
    remembering Allah, may He be glorified and exalted.” 

    Whatever the case, the individual should not refrain from 
    eating from his sacrifice. 

    End quote from al-Sharh al-Mumti‘, 7/481 

    If the matter is as you described, and it will be difficult 
    to slaughter seven cows in one day, and everyone wants to take meat on the 
    same day, there is nothing wrong with that. So you should slaughter as many 
    as you can, then everyone should take some of the meat. For those whose cow 
    could not be slaughtered on the first day, they may take some of the meat, 
    even if it is only a little, when it is slaughtered on the second day. But 
    you should pay attention to two matters: 

    1.It is essential to set aside 
    some of the meat of each cow for charity and it should not all be 
    distributed to those who are offering the sacrifice, whether it is 
    slaughtered on the first day or after that.

    2.It is essential to specify who 
    has shared in the sacrifice at the time of slaughter, so it should be 
    intended that this cow is offered on behalf of So and so, mentioning each of 
    them by name. It is not sufficient to slaughter all the cows on behalf of 
    all the participants; rather it is essential to identify exactly on whose 
    behalf each cow is being sacrificed.

    And Allah knows best.