As an office manager, there are plenty of reasons you want your corporate catering portions to be accurate. When there's too much food left over after an employee lunch, you know you've spent more money than necessary. Overestimating how much food to order also results in wasted food, which hurts both the environment and community members struggling with food insecurity. On the other hand, when you find yourself running out of food before your catered lunch has ended, your employees will be walking away disappointed, hungry, and lacking the energy they need to function well on the job. With Sifted, you can rest easy knowing your catered lunches will arrive just right, every time. We have catering food portioning down to a science—and here’s how we do it.
Data-Driven Office Catering Portions
At Sifted, we create recipes and menus, deliver and set up a catered family-style buffet, make sure your employees enjoy their food, and clean and pack up afterward. But beyond that, we also engage in ongoing data collection about our meals and our clients’ preferences. We track exactly how much of each food item is eaten each day, in addition to how much is composted and how much is left over for donation. We collect feedback on our menus as well, so we can tweak them to maximize client satisfaction and the percentage of food eaten. When you know how much people eat, what dietary restrictions they have, and which foods they most enjoy, you can find the best catering solutions for your meals.
By taking this data into consideration, Sifted helps your company enjoy better office catering over time. With our data collection and feedback, you can order precisely the right foods in the right quantities, keeping your group happy regardless of dietary restrictions, and preventing food waste.
Zero Waste Catering Solutions
Even with our carefully calculated portioning efforts, occasionally there’s still food left over at the end of the meal—whether it’s because employees are out sick, or someone loaded a bit too much onto their plate. At Sifted, we've worked hard to become the only national caterer with zero food waste. Rather than tossing excess food in the landfill, we make sure table scraps are composted and edible food is donated to those in need.
We partner with a company called Copia to turn edible leftovers into food donations. Copia is focused on ending hunger and handles the logistics of getting excess healthy food to people who need it. Together with Copia, we ensure any extra food ordered by a client makes its way to hungry community members via a local nonprofit. Not only is our catering delicious, our commitment to ending food waste makes our food better for the environment and the community.
The Takeaway
Your bottom line is important, but it’s just as important to show your employees that you care. By partnering with a caterer that takes social and environmental issues into account and pays attention to employees' unique needs, you can more effectively recruit top talent and keep them happy. Try out Sifted lunch catering to delight your employees and avoid over-ordering while creating zero food waste and supporting people in need in your local community. Get in touch, and we’ll help you determine exactly how Sifted can meet your office catering needs.