The Office Managers Guide to Food in the Workplace

Good food equals great work

Food has always been part of office life—and always will be, given how much time the average employee spends in the workplace. In fact, 70% of employees eat while they work at least once a week, from casual break room food to full meals. For business owners and office managers, there’s an opportunity to build camaraderie and partnerships over delicious office food. With these tips, you can make sure your team is productive, satiated and looking forward to what you’ll serve at every meeting.

Get employees excited about lunch

Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the others. According to a recent study, 36% of employees skip lunch at work at least once per week. If nothing else, the possibility that one-third of your staff aren’t eating at midday is a good reason to encourage lunch breaks.

Thankfully, there are many ways to make lunch part of your company culture. The easiest is to organize weekly or biweekly team lunches, such as lunch and learn presentations. Ordering takeout meals can also build camaraderie, as long as you provide varied food choices. Finally, try taking the entire team out to a nice restaurant to celebrate major events—work anniversaries, retirements and achieving important business milestones are always good occasions.

For more workplace lunch advice, check out 5 Work Lunch Ideas That Your Employees Will Actually Love.

Spice up work meetings with quality snacks

Once you tally the hours up, approximately 15% of an organization’s collective time is spent in meetings. Providing a little food on these occasions helps these meetings go smoothly by breaking the ice, jump-starting conversations and promoting social bonding.

These food choices don’t have to be complicated, but they should reflect the time of day and expected meeting length. For example, coffee is ideal for morning appointments, along with bagels, donuts or fresh fruit. Meetings that take place over the lunch hour pair well with sandwiches or pizza. During the summer months, ice cream can ease the heat and cool everyone down. If nothing else, having food for employees available might get everyone on your team more excited about attending every meeting!

Need more snack tips? Read What Are the Best Food Ideas for Work Meetings for even more suggestions.

Manage food allergies in the workplace

It’s impossible to separate a conversation about office food from a conversation about allergies. An estimated 33 million Americans deal with food allergies, over half of whom have experienced a severe reaction in their lifetimes. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to support anyone on your team who discloses such an allergy. There are many ways to accomplish this goal:

• Education: Share educational materials or host training sessions so the entire team is aware of food allergy risks and how to prevent reactions.

• Reminders: Break rooms and kitchens might display signage about allergic reactions, such as how to spot or prevent them. 

• Ingredients: Avoid stocking the kitchen or break room with any snacks or foods that contain common allergens.

• Supplies: Create specific areas within kitchens to house food and accessories for team members with allergies. Providing disposable utensils is another way to reduce risk.

• Events: When planning a work meeting or outing where food will be available, either separate foods that might cause a reaction, or remove allergens from the menu entirely.

• Information: When serving food, be sure to make ingredient lists available so that employees can assess risk factors.

Address allergies before they become reactions using How to Manage Food Allergies in the Workplace.

Choose office food that’s delicious & nutritious

It would be easy to order pizza or donuts for every work party, but it’s better to have some variety beyond cheese and carbs. In fact, avoiding fast food options can help keep the team productive while decreasing negative effects, such as headaches.

Nuts, popcorn and granola are all delicious and nutritious options, especially when paired with fruits and veggies. Speaking of fruit, look into dried fruits, as they combine the vitamins of fresh servings with a much longer shelf life. Even chocolate is still on the table, provided it’s high-cocoa dark chocolate, which is rich in iron, fiber and magnesium. There’s a whole range of delicious snack options your team might be missing out on!

For more details on high-nutrient snack options, try our selections from 7 Healthy Snacks for Work That Will Keep You Focused.

Think beyond break room food with vending machines

Vending machines are a convenient way to provide food for both employees and customers alike. What’s more, modern machines have varied menus that can include everything from hot coffee to full-course meals. Some popular categories to consider for your business include:

• Snacks: Small chip bags, chocolate bars and candies have always been popular vending machine choices. For variety, consider stocking more nutritious alternatives, such as granola bars.

• Beverages: Along with soda, vending machines can serve juice, energy drinks and coffee. Some specialty machines can even mix up fruit smoothies!

• Meals: A growing number of vending machines carry pre-packaged options for when you need a full meal. For example, you might stock pasta dishes, food bowls or a full-course chicken dinner.

For more guidance on setting up your machine, read The Perfect Vending Machine Snacks List.

Go outside the box for work parties

Planning a work lunch is one thing, but choosing food for an entire work party is a tall order. There are plenty of outside-the-box ideas when you want to get the entire team excited.

• Make the event a potluck: If your employees have multiple dietary restrictions, keep things simple and plan a potluck. Everyone can account for their own personal requirements while still having the opportunity to sample diverse dishes from the team.

• Organize a food bar: Customization is another way to let staff tailor their own meal choices. Salad bars, burger bars and taco bars offer servings of each ingredient to assemble the perfect bite. For more casual events, smoothie or ice cream sundae bars are tantalizing options.

• Research local food businesses: With just a little networking, you can find local chefs and restaurant owners who would happily cater your work party. This option supports local businesses and builds new community connections that could flourish into local partnerships.

Still not ready for the work party? Try the 5 Work Party Food Ideas That Employees Actually Want.

Don’t forget about office kitchen etiquette

Now that you’ve organized so many successful work luncheons, the office kitchen might need cleaning. That won’t be a problem if you’ve established etiquette rules for the team to follow. Keep the following guidelines in mind to keep kitchens and break rooms tidy.

• Clean up after yourself: This rule goes beyond mere workplace etiquette. If you leave a mess for someone to clean up, you’re making their life harder and encouraging others to leave messes of their own.

• Replace any supplies you’ve finished: Is the Keurig machine out of water? Be courteous and refill it. Did you use the last plastic fork or knife? Time to open a new box. If you are running out of supplies, let the office manager know, so they can order more.

• Wipe up spills immediately: Anyone might cry over spilled milk if it’s still there 24 hours later. Cleaning up spills quickly helps keep the space sanitary while preventing slips and falls.

• Don’t leave food in the fridge forever: The refrigerator is for everyone, so don’t treat it as your personal long-term storage. If you need to leave something in the fridge, make a point of removing it well before 48 hours have elapsed.

One more that should go without saying: if this is your business, the team will follow your example. So make sure kitchen etiquette applies to you as much as anyone else.

Get on top of work kitchen manners with Office Kitchen Etiquette: How to Act Like a Pro On and Off the Clock.

From meals to kitchen utensils, Walmart is here to help

It’s not hard to find the right office food and break room supplies when you have a partner like Walmart Business. Visit us today to find allergy-safe snacks, fresh ingredients and the kitchen utensils you’ll need. If you already have an account, upgrade to Walmart Business+ for free shipping,¹ free delivery from store on orders over $35² and 2% cash back rewards for purchases over $250.³ With all of these benefits, you’ll have the chance to save over $500 each year!⁴

¹ Excludes most Marketplace items, freight and certain location surcharges.

² Restrictions apply.

³ Rewards can only be used toward future purchases on Walmart Business. Additional terms apply.

⁴ Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business Rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).