Tips on how to ramp up your office lunch

Consider Individual

While in the past most of our staff lunches have been buffet-style, it is not a preferred choice these days. You would want to avoid staff all picking from the same buffet tray, and in this sense individually packaged meals are more COVID-safe. And with Oh My Lunch, all dishes are labelled with staff names - making it even more convenient for the staff.

Plan for variable headcount in the office

While in the past, it would have been relatively easy to estimate how many people you would have attending lunch, these days it can get very unpredictable. The attendance can vary between 10-15% of the office to 75%+, depending on your company, current situation, and curiously - on the day of the week. In our experience, Tuesday to Thursday are the busiest day of the week, and Monday & Friday are the quietest when staff are working from home. Anyways, with Feedr Cloud Canteen, you won't need to guess how many people are going to show up  and for how many you should order lunch - as the staff select their lunches online, if they are coming in the office

Adjusting to a new normal

Although, cautiously, the end of this crisis seems to be near, we are still dealing with additional rules and restrictions to combat this persistent pandemic. Coming together for lunch is therefore a bit challenging, but certainly not impossible. On the face of it, your company may not have all the facilities needed. But with some ingenuity in combination with Feedr Cloud Canteen, the lunch break in your company can be corona-proof, too.

Naturally it would be great if we no longer had to worry about all kinds of adjustments and to just go back to the 'old normal'. Do you still remember?  Being on the train or in public spaces without a face mask, shaking a dozen hands each day, traffic jams on our way to work, long queues in a crowded office kitchen, and right back in that traffic jam on the way home... Right, we might miss some things more than others. The changes that we have to make under the guise of a 'new normal' do not all necessarily turn out to be a deterioration. Who knows, we might even be keeping some of these new habits by the time we can let go of all restrictions.

Squeaky clean

One of those great new standards could be the attention to hygiene. Of course, hygiene rules already apply to the preparation of food, a clean lunch space or office kitchen is equally important. In addition to washing our hands, which has already become quite a routine, the regular disinfection of furniture should be just as high on our priority list. Also, ventilation must not be forgotten; if possible, open a window or doors in between activities. The caterers of Feedr take the utmost care to ensure hygiene in the preparation of their meals. The freshly prepared lunches are immediately individually packed and delivered- so that no one but the lucky person who gets to sink their teeth into it, gets their hands on that lunch.

Need some space?

While many employees still regularly work from home, the office and the cafeteria are somewhat deserted, and shortage of space is definitely not an issue. However, the time will come – rather today than tomorrow – when offices and workplaces get busier again. And if the distancing rules still apply, or if you/your employees desire to continue the use of 'one and a half meters'-rule, it will be a squeeze to fit it all in. Splatter shields are quite ingenious but also quite the investment. Besides, these screens need to be kept clean as well. Another option is to divide the lunch break into shifts, so smaller groups have lunch together at the same time. Mix-and-match different departments and alternate, it will create the opportunity for your employees to get to know each other better, there will always be plenty to talk about and enough space. Brilliant!

Take a walk

Somehow, during this crisis, we all started to like, or love even, taking a stroll in our spare time. Whereas this was previously seen as a bit of a boring hobby, nowadays both young and old fanatically explore their surroundings on foot. Definitely a great development, more physical activity and being in the outdoors. Especially as a much-needed interruption of a long day at your desk. In the open air, keeping your distance is not a problem at all and the chances of transferring minuscule uninvited guests are very low. Feedr has already counted on it; thanks to the practical packaging you can just as easily take lunch ‘to go’ and enjoy it outside. Obviously, a win-win-win-win situation. You could provide your employees with some nice tips for a stroll in the neighborhood. And an umbrella, you never know.

Old habits die hard?

The provisional 'new normal' requires us to be a little more creative with our lunch break at work. And at the same time, it gives us a chance to rethink our old habits. Because improvements are a good thing, right? Feedr delivers carefree and corona-proof lunch for your employees; prepared and individually packed in accordance with strict hygiene rules. A good start on the way to the 'old normal' with better habits.

‍

Want help ramping up your office lunch? Reach out on 085 2006 166 or [email protected] for a demo of our Cloud Canteen Solution.

‍