Who likes a free lunch? Everyone, including your employees. In fact, 57% of workers say that free or subsidized food is their favorite work perk.

It’s easy to see why. A mid-day meal fills us with energy to tackle the rest of the workday. Healthy lunches enhance cognitive function, creative thinking, and morale, so it’s good for the brain and productivity too.

Free lunches also help encourage onsite work, “earning the commute” for hybrid workers who have the choice between working from home or the office.

Your organization won’t reap all those benefits with once-in-a-blue-moon pizza parties. You need a food for work solution that provides your employees with the variety they crave, with the ease and flexibility your company needs for their lunch catering program.

Enter Relish, ezCater’s recurring meal solution that workers love and savvy businesses trust to boost employee experience and productivity. It’s a win-win.

What is Relish?

No, not the condiment.

Relish by ezCater is a meal program that organizations and employees love to use. All employers do is set a meal schedule and subsidy. Then, employees choose exactly what they want to eat from a curated list of local favorites.

ezCater does all the heavy lifting: from suggesting popular restaurants and hidden gems to delivering meals and everything in between.

The top 5 things employees love about Relish

We’ve teased that Relish is easy to use, but there are so many more reasons why employees love it.

1. Employees order what they want

No one compromises with Relish. Because each employee orders their own individually packaged meal in the app, coworkers don’t have to agree on what to eat.

Everyone gets the food they love for lunch — even those with food allergies and dietary preferences. A meat lover could choose a sandwich stacked high with deli slices, while a vegetarian picks a pasta primavera and soup.

2. Busy employees get a full meal

Relish keeps busy employees well-fed by sending individuals reminders to order their next meal. Then, the second their food is dropped off, workers get a notification.

Getting lunch delivered at the office is a time saver for anyone swamped at work or caught between meetings, two main reasons why employees skip lunch.

3. Saving money tastes good

Relish saves employees money, too. They don’t need to purchase their own food because they can eat at work. You choose how much of their meal to subsidize, and regardless of subsidy amount, employees always appreciate not having to pay delivery fees or tip.

4. Work lunches are fun

Subsidized lunches are even better when there’s variety. With rotating restaurant options on Relish, every lunch break is an opportunity to try new menus and cuisines.

Employees could get salmon poke bowls one day and BBQ chicken wraps the next. And since ordering balanced meals is so convenient, workers can make healthy food choices easier.

5. Employees feel valued and connected

Ditching boring brown bag lunches is great for morale, too. When companies provide food at work, 89% of workers say they feel appreciated. It’s a kind gesture that combats burnout.

Bonding with colleagues also helps improve employee satisfaction, and 62% of surveyed workers in our Food for Work report believe food at work fosters connection and collaboration.

The top 5 reasons employers love Relish, too

Lunch breaks + Relish = happy employees. That’s a formula savvy business leaders understand, so they’re jumping on the hospitality mindset trend and using food as a way to create a workplace where people actually want to be, and do work.

Here are some reasons why Relish is a top choice for leading organizations:

1. Ordering meals is easy peasy

Relish simplifies the food ordering process for employers. They don’t have to come up with menu ideas or make accommodations for food allergies and dietary restrictions.

By spending less time micromanaging lunch, employers can focus on more productive tasks.

“Since switching to Relish, [from] calling, setting up the food, to them arriving…I bet I’m saving 4-5 hours a week.”

Melissa Allinder, Office Operations Manager at NorthPoint Development

2. Food perks attract and retain great talent

Employees want non-traditional benefits at work. Our Food for Work report found that 46% of workers say they’re more likely to stay at their current company if offered meals.

Relish can help with hiring, too: 50% of candidates admit that catered lunches nudge them to accept a job offer. In a competitive market, Relish meals can make a huge difference.

3. Relish cuts food and budget waste

Reducing waste also keeps organizations agile and lean. Relish does that.

Instead of guesstimating how much food to order, only employees who are actually in the office order. No over-ordering, no wasted food, and no wasted money. That’s a huge plus, especially for hybrid workplaces with fluctuating in-office attendance.

4. Companies get customized reporting to make data-driven catering decisions

And how could we forget about Relish’s customized reports? They’re a must-have waste-cutting tool for employers. With Relish, you can run reports on past orders to figure out if your food perks policy is going well and having the intended effects.

Are workers taking advantage of their comped meals? Is free lunch boosting office attendance and productivity? Is the lunch subsidy enough? Relish takes the guesswork out of these decisions.

As companies grow, these customized reports become even more important to accurately predict and manage costs.

5. You can choose how much (or how little) you want to subsidize

Relish lets you adjust your subsidy and schedule settings at any time. Subsidized meals are one of employees favorite perks. And yes, Relish runs on its own, but employers are still in control.

On average, we see employers subsidizing $15 per Relish meal. But as a flexible solution, you pick what works for your organization.

Make Relish your lunch catering partner

Free or subsidized lunches are an excellent investment, and HR professionals agree. They’re 20% more likely to say subsidized food offers the best value for its cost, compared to other benefits.

 Learn more about Relish by ezCater and see for yourself how the right lunch catering can drive business results affordably and at scale.