Forum Discussion
MGCI Training - July Topic: Food! Meals, snacks, and beverages
Getting a little ahead of ourselves, but it's a tasty topic, maybe even a little spicy. :)
Are you serving food at your event? It's one of the bigger costs for many events.
What are your venue rules and requirements? Are you locked into their services?
How do you address folks with dietary restrictions?
What questions do you have about feeding your attendees?
What should you do? How can you get engaged in the conversation?
- Chime in here.
- Do you have thoughts you'd like to contribute to the conversation? Let us know you'll be on the call!
Thanks!
8 Replies
I think a major piece of this is setting a firm registration deadline. That’s the only way to get an accurate headcount of everyone's dietary needs before reaching out to the venue. The real challenge is finding out if the venue can actually accommodate those requests, which ultimately means we need to build a curated list of spaces that are flexible enough to handle this. Plus, these special dietary requirements always end up shifting the budget, so we need that data early.
A deadline helps with planning to be sure. How you go about it depends on your goals. For example, we want to include and welcome as many folks as possible, so we allow walk-ins and registration up to the event and on-site. When I'm managing tickets, I have one type up to a date about a week from the event that locks down - which I then use for estimates and orders. I have another ticket type that I use after that so I can do quick printing the night before. With a plan like this in place I can set expectations better. If a walk-in or late sign up complains about food, it's a talking point...
Another tangent to think about where the food topic overlaps with the speaker side of topics: Do you have a speaker dinner at your event? Something else to plan for, find a venue, make sure you're budgeted for it, etc.
Keep it formal at a restaurant? Host it somewhere else? Try and find a unique twist to represent your city/locale? Or mix it with a fun activity to thank your speakers... So many options.
I think it is a nice gesture to organize a speaker dinner - lovely way to say thank you to the speakers and have some time to chat and munch outside the event. It doesn't need to be a formal dinner at a restaurant. It could be something casual that represents the region and what locals do. Or it could be catered in the cafeteria/space of one of the event sponsors if that is possible.
Agree there's definitely a range of opportunities for speaker dinners. How we go about it depends on a lot of things but showing appreciation to our speakers is the overall goal. We've historically done ours at restaurants. As much as I'd like to do something less formal like a BBQ, etc. so much depends on the weather, etc. and a restaurant removes that risk most of the time. The downside of the restaurant option is its usually more expensive and we've found it to be pretty loud in most venues which takes away from the chat and catchup component.
Some folks do dinners before the event, others after. Lots of opportunities. :)
- HeatherCook
Microsoft
Love this topic, because food is never just food at events. It’s experience, logistics, cost, and inclusion all in one.
For me, it starts with the constraints. If you are locked into venue catering, it becomes about negotiating flexibility and experience. If not, you get more creativity but also more complexity.
Cost-wise, I focus on where food actually adds value. Key moments like coffee or networking tend to matter more than over-investing in standard meals sometimes. Supporting local independent businesses is awesome completely agree with Neil.
Also, dietary needs are non-negotiable. I look for inclusive menus by default, clear labeling, and making sure no one has to ask or feel like an exception.
The questions I keep coming back to are how food supports the experience, where it matters most, and how we balance cost with impact.
It depends on the venue. If the venue does not require us to use their catering service, we will source bagels, coffee and pastries for breakfast. For lunch we would do either pizza cut in party style or sandwiches. Our options range from Costco, Starbucks, Jimmy Johns, Publix and other local businesses. As we are a community focused non profit, we prefer to source local to support the small businesses in our area. We also placeo out small Halloween size treats throughout the day for speakers, sponsors and attendees to grab as they move between sessions.
Great points:
Venue requirements - Many venues require you use their food service. This limits your options and is often relatively pricey. Check with your venue before locking in. Work with venue contacts to find out if there are exceptions to policies like this for snacks, coffee, etc. - any where you can trim costs if needed.
On the non-profit topic, some vendors will offer free options or reduced price offerings for non-profits. Make sure to ask.
We love the "support local" options when we can. One issue we ran into was the pizza shop couldn't keep up with the number of pizzas we needed. We had to split the order across a couple of local businesses.
Snacks throughout the day are great. One option that can increase sponsor engagement is placing snacks on sponsor tables (If they're ok with that). Keep servings "grabbable" size to keep it simple.
