Report Highlights
- •53% of US employees now receive workplace catering at least weekly, up sharply from just a few years ago when free food was confined largely to tech campuses.
- •$108.68 per week is the average amount on-site and hybrid employees now spend on work lunches in 2025, a 23% jump year-on-year.
- •$4,500 median annual salary that the typical employee would sacrifice before giving up their workplace food benefits.
- •51% of employees skip lunch at least once a week, and 84% say hunger at work negatively affects their job performance.
- •$425.5 billion is the estimated economic cost to US businesses in 2023 from overweight and obese workers, largely driven by diet-related chronic disease.
- •36% of corporate cafeteria decision-makers say companies should plan to decommission their cafeterias in favour of flexible restaurant-based meal programmes, a 39% increase from 2025.
- •0% is the employer meal deduction available in 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, down from 50% through 2025.
- •$15.7 billion is the projected 2026 revenue of the US caterers industry, growing at a 6.7% CAGR over the past five years.
1. Catering Access and Penetration
Mainstream adoption
- •53% of employed US adults receive workplace catering at least once a week, while the remaining 47% work in organisations with no regular food programme.
- •43% of organisations now have a recurring employee meal programme in place, up 17% from 2024.
- •60% of workplaces plan to increase their food spending in 2025, with nearly a third expecting budget increases of 25% or more.
- •Average order value on the ezCater platform rose 12% year-on-year to $420 per order, with average headcount per order up 9% to 25 people.
- •70% of employees who first try a restaurant through an employer-provided meal later order from that restaurant personally, a 49% increase from the prior year.
- •37% of business decision-makers say free or subsidised meals deliver some of the best ROI among all employee benefits they offer.
- •88% of business leaders say a corporate meal programme can boost in-office attendance, and one client reported office attendance increasing fivefold after introducing a workplace food programme.
Generational divide
- •71% of workers aged 18-29 receive regular workplace catering, nearly three times the 35% penetration among employees aged 45-64.
- •2.4 times more likely is how much more willing workers under 30 are to trade work-from-home flexibility for daily catered lunch compared with older cohorts.
- •47% of Gen Z workers skip lunch at least twice a week, the highest rate of any generation, despite rating lunch as one of their favourite parts of the workday.
- •Gen Z spends 32% more per week on work lunches than older cohorts, making employer-provided food even more financially meaningful for younger workers.
2. Employee Food Spending and Lunchflation
Rising costs
- •$108.68 per week is the average total spending on work lunches by on-site and hybrid US employees in 2025, up from $88 the previous year, a 23% year-on-year increase.
- •$34.82 per purchased lunch is the average amount employees spend when buying out, up 26% from 2024. The typical worker buys lunch 2.6 times per week.
- •$23.60 is the average cost of a single work lunch in major US urban centres in early 2026.
- •$5,664 per year is the projected annual lunch spend for those who regularly buy lunch at the office.
- •74% of all employees acknowledge that inflation has changed their lunch spending habits, with 34% opting for cheaper choices and 33% dining out less frequently.
- •17-18% of employees report intentionally skipping meals to save money.
- •$5.50 is the approximate cost of a homemade lunch, yielding annual savings of more than $4,300 versus regularly buying lunch near the office.
Perceived benefit value
- •$4,500 median annual salary sacrifice is the amount the typical US employee would give up to keep all workplace food benefits. The mean figure is $5,880.
- •$4,800 median annual food benefit provided by companies in 2025, a 371% increase from the previous year's figure, according to the Benepass Benefits Benchmarking Guide.
- •34% of employees would sacrifice their annual holiday party for daily catered lunch. 30% would give up company happy hours.
- •18% would trade work-from-home flexibility for daily catered lunch, rising to 25% among workers already in a catering programme.
3. Productivity, Performance, and Nutrition
Hunger and performance
- •94% of employees agree that taking a proper lunch break improves their overall job performance, yet more than half (51%) skip lunch at least once a week.
- •85% of employees say their afternoon productivity improves after having lunch. 52% report greater mental clarity after pausing for a midday meal.
- •84% of employees experience workplace hunger-driven irritability, and 88% say it negatively affects their job performance.
- •43% of hungry employees take longer to complete tasks. 39% make more mistakes. 31% produce lower-quality work when hungry.
- •63% of workers now eat their midday meals during in-person meetings. Working through lunch has become the norm.
- •30 minutes per workday is the average time saved by employees when meals are provided at work, equivalent to 2.5 hours per week of reclaimed time.
- •68% of employees report feeling more productive when their employer provides meals.
Nutrition and health outcomes
- •25% more likely to have high job performance is the differential seen in employees who maintain a healthy diet, according to American Psychological Association survey data.
- •16% increase in productivity documented in programmes where employers invest in healthy food options for staff, according to Harvard Business School research.
- •27% reduction in absenteeism associated with healthy workplace nutrition programmes.
- •$3.27 in medical cost savings for every $1 spent on employee wellness programmes, including nutrition components.
- •Diet is ranked the number-one factor impacting health status in the US, ahead of tobacco and physical inactivity, by the Journal of the American Medical Association.
- •75% of US healthcare spending goes to treating chronic diseases, the majority of which are diet-related, according to the CDC.
- •20% reduction in stress levels reported by employees who follow a healthier diet at work.
4. Obesity, Chronic Disease, and Employer Costs
- •$425.5 billion is the estimated total economic cost of overweight and obese workers to US businesses in 2023, according to GlobalData analytics.
- •30% of US civilian employees (46.9 million people) are classified as obese. A further 34% (53.8 million) are classified as overweight, together representing nearly two-thirds of the workforce.
- •$6,472 per year is the annual economic cost to employers for each worker with obesity, versus $1,244 for workers who are overweight but not obese.
- •$260 billion annually is the productivity loss to US businesses attributable to chronic diseases, most of which are diet-related, according to CDC estimates.
- •Twice as many workers' compensation claims are filed by employees with obesity compared with healthy-weight colleagues, with medical costs running seven times higher.
- •13 times more days of work lost from work injury or illness in obese workers versus non-obese, based on Duke University Medical Center analysis.
5. Lunch Break Habits and Workplace Culture
Break frequency and behaviour
- •Only 35% of employees take a lunch break away from their desk every single day, down from 38% the prior year.
- •51% of workers skip lunch at least once a week (up from 49% the year before), and one-third skip at least twice per week.
- •63% of employees eat during in-person meetings, making the working lunch the default rather than the exception.
- •82% of employees expect their employer to provide food when a meeting is scheduled across their lunch period. 31% expect a full meal and 29% are content with snacks.
- •74% of workers believe meetings are more productive and collaborative when food is provided.
Food and office attendance
- •18% of employees with existing catering cite free food as their number-one reason to come into the office, 7 times higher than the 2.5% figure among employees without catering access.
- •Food-related perks rank as the #1 incentive to work on-site more frequently, more popular than education benefits, commuter stipends, and flexible hours.
- •More than three in four companies (75%+) that offer employee meal programmes report better worker retention rates compared with those that do not.
- •61% of US companies have formal return-to-office policies in 2026, with food now a primary non-punitive incentive to drive compliance.
6. The Decline of the Corporate Cafeteria
- •55% of cafeteria decision-makers say cafeteria use is trending down in 2026, despite 60% of employees with cafeteria access now working fully on-site.
- •$1 million+ is the average annual operating cost of a corporate cafeteria, with 55% of organisations anticipating further cost increases in 2026.
- •51% of leaders say cafeterias no longer justify their operational expenses. 51% of organisations have already reduced cafeteria operating hours.
- •36% of decision-makers say companies should decommission cafeterias in favour of flexible restaurant-based alternatives, a 39% increase from the prior year.
- •29% of employees have stopped using their cafeteria due to high prices. Pricing is now the primary barrier to utilisation rather than food quality or convenience.
- •76% of employees prefer flexible meal programmes such as restaurant-based catering over traditional cafeteria service.
- •4-10% of food purchased ends up as waste in corporate food service operations, equivalent to up to $50,000 lost per year for a mid-sized company with a $500,000 dining budget.
7. Market Size and Industry Economics
Catering and foodservice
- •$15.7 billion is the projected 2026 revenue of the US caterers industry, following a 6.7% CAGR over the past five years.
- •$55 billion is the total US catering market size in 2024, forecast to reach $71 billion by 2030 at a 5.2% CAGR.
- •$15.2 billion is the US corporate group meals service market size in 2024, forecast to expand to $25.3 billion by 2033 at a 6.5% CAGR.
- •$1.05 trillion in total US foodservice sales in 2025, with off-premise formats (delivery, takeout, catering) accounting for over 60% of all restaurant traffic.
- •5.1% overall revenue increase experienced by restaurants with catering programmes from 2023 to 2024, outpacing the 3.3% average industry revenue growth.
Meal benefits and vouchers
- •$261.33 billion is the projected 2026 global meal voucher and employee benefit solutions market, growing from $245.80 billion in 2025 at an 8.07% CAGR.
- •7% of US companies now offer dedicated food stipends as a formal benefit, up 1 percentage point in the second half of 2025.
- •Food-away-from-home prices rose 3.6% in 2025, faster than overall food inflation of 2.2% and home food inflation of 1.3%.
8. Tax Law Changes Affecting Workplace Food in 2026
- •0% employer meal deduction from January 1, 2026 under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, ending the 50% deduction that applied through the end of 2025.
- •100% disallowance under Section 274(o) now applies to employer-provided meals for convenience, company cafeteria food, breakroom snacks, coffee, and de minimis pantry items.
- •Exceptions remain for meals provided by restaurants or catering vendors in bona fide business transactions, creating a structural incentive to use external caterers rather than on-site facilities.
- •Client meals at restaurants may still qualify for a 50% deduction under the business meals exception.
- •The change is expected to accelerate the shift from fixed on-site cafeterias to flexible restaurant-based meal programmes, as the lost tax advantage removes one reason to maintain expensive in-house dining infrastructure.
9. Food Quality, Preferences, and Workplace Trends
Employee preferences
- •Better snacks and drinks were the single most requested improvement in workplace food provision, ahead of more variety and higher meal quality.
- •Protein-rich snacks, fibre-forward options, and lower-sugar treats are winning in US office pantries in 2025, as employees choose functional food over ultra-processed alternatives.
- •71% of Gen Z and 68% of Millennials plan to dine out more in 2025, making workplace food an extension of their broader food culture.
- •87% of Gen Z employees say they indulge in at least one snack at work per week, more than any other generation.
- •67% of employees enjoy or love professionally catered workplace meals, versus only 10% who dread them.
Technology and sustainability
- •Digital ordering platforms are now standard for large corporate catering programmes, streamlining menu customisation, dietary management, and scheduling.
- •66 million tons of food waste are generated annually by US food retail, food service, and residential sectors combined.
- •Eco-friendly packaging and locally sourced ingredients are increasingly in demand in corporate catering contracts as companies seek to meet ESG commitments.
10. Food as a Retention and Recruitment Tool
- •More than three in four companies that offer food at work report better employee retention rates than those that do not.
- •76% of decision-makers agree that providing food makes employees more likely to join and stay at the company.
- •50-200% of a worker's annual salary is the estimated cost to replace an employee, the benchmark against which a $4,160-$4,420 annual catering programme should be measured.
- •45% of US workers say they would stay at a job longer if it offered wellness benefits including healthy food provision.
- •Companies with wellness programmes have a turnover rate 10% lower on average than companies without, and food and nutrition are core components of high-participation wellness initiatives.
- •87% of employees consider health and wellness offerings, including food, when choosing an employer.
- •Employees save on average 30 minutes per workday when meals are provided, translating to roughly $2,000 in equivalent time value per year at median US wages.
2026 Outlook
- •43% of organisations already have recurring meal programmes and the number is projected to approach 50% by end of 2026 as return-to-office policies make regular on-site food a competitive necessity.
- •36% of cafeteria decision-makers say cafeterias should be decommissioned in favour of restaurant-based alternatives, a trend that will accelerate given the 2026 removal of the employer meal tax deduction.
- •The US catering market is forecast to grow from $55 billion in 2024 to $71 billion by 2030, with corporate workplace dining a primary growth driver.
- •Food-related perks are projected to become baseline expectations for workers aged 18-29 as Gen Z becomes the plurality cohort in the workforce over the next 3-5 years.
- •Workplace food technology investment is set to grow as part of the broader US food tech market expansion toward $224.31 billion by 2032.
Sources
- •CaterCow - 2025 Workplace Food Habits Report (national survey of 1,000 US adults), October 2025
- •ezCater - Fourth Annual Lunch Report (survey of 1,000 full-time US employees), 2025
- •ezCater - Food for Work Report / Catering Growth Forum Data, 2025
- •ezCater - 2026 Workplace Cafeteria Report (survey of 602 cafeteria decision-makers), March 2026
- •ezCater - Workplace Trends 2026: The Future of Workplace Experience, February 2026
- •Fooda - What's Happening in the Workplace Now? Survey Report, 2025
- •Benepass - 2025 Benefits Benchmarking Guide, 2025
- •Compt - 2026 Annual Lifestyle Benefits Benchmark Report, February 2026
- •GlobalData - Assessing the Economic Impact of Obesity on Employers, 2023
- •Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Chronic Disease Data and Healthcare Spending Estimates
- •US Bureau of Labor Statistics - Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, December 2025
- •IRS Publication 15-B - Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits, 2026
- •PwC - Limits on Employer Deductions for Certain Meals Effective in 2026, September 2025
- •IBISWorld - Caterers in the US Industry Analysis, January 2026
- •Fortune Business Insights - Meal Vouchers and Employee Benefits Solutions Market Report, 2025
- •MarkntelAdvisors - US Catering Market Size, Share and Growth Report 2025-2030, 2025
- •Harvard Business School - Healthy Food at Work and Productivity Studies
- •American Psychological Association - Employee Health and Diet Survey Data
- •WifiTalents - Employee Wellness Program Data Reports 2026, February 2026
- •FounderReports - Essential Return-to-Office Statistics and Trends 2026, April 2026