Food

From AFSWiki

This article is about serving food and drinks at meetings and orientations.

For a meeting of any length, it is highly recommended to provide refreshments and/or meals. The amount and frequency will vary with the time of day and length of the orientation itself. In short, the food and drink arrangements can help entice invitees to attend, can provide opportunities for socializing, and can provide the boost of energy participants need to stay alert after a couple of hours of work. Given the relatively low cost of providing food and drinks, it is better to be generous because satiated participants are happier participants.

Handling food and drink arrangements and preparation is time-consuming. The meeting organizer will probably have difficulty focusing on the agenda if that person also has to worry about snacks and meals. It is especially helpful to get assistance in this area, and even better to turn all of the arrangements over to someone else. If you are using professional food services such as the site caterer or a restaurant, the arrangements are simpler, but can still be a distraction. If your group is preparing its own food, it is imperative that one person be dedicated to handling these preparations.

In handling food and drink arrangements it is important to be thorough. In addition to the food and drinks, make sure to have plates, utensils, cups, napkins, cutting knives, salt and pepper, condiments, ice, trash bags, and other standard accompaniments that you would readily have at home. Find out how to dispose of trash properly on the day of the event. If you are using professional food services, make sure you have budgeted carefully, including taxes and gratuities. Given the diversity of eating habits, it is also important that you account for different tastes by offering a variety of options, including a vegetarian option. A variety of drinks is also important as different people prefer water, juice, sodas, coffee, and tea.

See Also

• How to pay for the food: volunteer expenses
• meeting supplies