A meal allowance for employees is a set amount you fund for meals. What companies budget per person, how it differs from per diem, and how to set one up.

Woman in office space with salad and water ordered from DoorDash

DDfB - Blog - Meal Allowance for Employees

Global

Meal Allowance for Employees: How Much Companies Budget

Meal Allowance for Employees: A Practical Guide

Work Culture

Employee Benefits

Subscribe for insights to help you run a great business, delivered weekly to your inbox.

This site uses our own and third party cookies and similar technologies to ensure our site and services function, personalize user experiences, analyze and improve website performance and content, and for advertising purposes. For more information please review our <a href="{{privacyLink}}" target="_blank">Cookie Policy</a>. Click “Essential only” to reject non-essential cookies, or “Close” to continue without changing your preferences.

every workplace food need, from recurring lunch programs to one-time client gifts.

A recurring meal program for in-office teams.

Meal Manager

Order trays or individual boxed meals for your next corporate event.

Corporate Catering

Send a one-time meal to anyone. Pay for what’s redeemed.

Meal Vouchers

Set a budget, your team orders from any restaurant and location.

Meal Budgets

One restaurant, everyone picks their own dish.

Group Orders

A gift card for anyone, redeemable across DoorDash.

Gift Cards

and reduced service fees on eligible orders, as well as 5% credit on eligible pickup orders. *

DoorDash for Business platform demo

Platform Demo

and start building a meal program your team will actually look forward to.

Custom pricing, invoicing, a dedicated account manager, and tools for large organizations.

Recurring meal program, for in-office teams.

Order trays or individual boxed meals for your corporate event.

Set up a Business Profile directly in the DoorDash app.

From small team lunches to large client meals and offsite events.

Cater meetings & events

One-time meal vouchers and gift cards for celebrations & recognition.

Reward clients & employees

$0 delivery fees and reduced service fees for eligible orders with DashPass.

Save on every order

Simplify your meal management

DoorDash for Business

Discover local, on-demand delivery or pickup from restaurants, grocery, convenience stores, and more.

I'm a Customer...

Our signup process takes just a few minutes, and most Dashers can start earning within days.

I want to Dash...

Grow your business and reach new customers on the DoorDash App or on your website by partnering with us.

I'm a Merchant...

Welcome to your new favorite lunch spot, the place to learn bite-sized tips from office heroes about creating a great place to work. Subscribe for weekly updates on the latest HR and People Ops news and trends!

What food is Austin known for? Breakfast tacos, Texas BBQ, and a huge food truck scene. Here's what to know before you order for the office.

Tex-Mex food, breakfast tacos, bbq served in platters in an office in Austin

DDfB - Blog Hero - What Food Is Austin Food Known For

US & Canada

What Food Is Austin Known For? Local Favorites for Your Next Team Lunch

What food is Chicago known for? Deep dish, Italian beef, and tavern-style pizza. Here's what makes each one local and how to bring them to your office.

what-food-is-chicago-known-for

What Food Is Chicago Known For? Five Iconic Dishes For The Office

A corporate gift card is a simple way to thank your team. Here's why food is the option employees actually use, and how to send them in bulk.

DDfB - Help Employees Make Time for Lunch Again - Header

Corporate Gift Cards for Employees: Say Thank You With Food

Learn what employee wellness programs are, the benefits for employees and employers, and how meal benefits support workplace wellness in 2026.

DDfB - Meal Stipends vs. Employee Meal Program - Coworkers

Employee Wellness Programs: A Complete 2026 Guide

Learn how to buy lunch for remote employees with flexible budgets, group orders, and gift cards. A practical 2026 guide for office and People teams.

how-to-buy-lunch-for-remote-employees

How to buy lunch for remote employees

Free lunch sounds too simple to work as a return to office incentive. It outperforms most of them. Here's why, and six setups you can run next week.

DD27204 DDfB Shot 17 2203 1- social

Return to Office Incentives: How Meal Benefits Can Support Office Attendance

Wondering when is HR Professionals Day? It falls on Sept 26. Discover genuine ways to recognize their hard work with fun team building activities and perks.

hr-professionals-day

HR Professionals Day 2026: Meaningful Ways to Celebrate

Discover virtual lunch ideas, from icebreakers to lunch and learn, that help remote teams beat isolation and strengthen company culture in 2026.

virtual-lunch-ideas

Virtual work lunch ideas to bring your team together

Beat the blues after summer with fall employee engagement ideas, decision-fatigue tips, and a restarted team meal program.

back-to-work-blues

 Beating the End of Summer Blues: Fall Employee Engagement Ideas for Teams

Looking for Halloween office ideas? From costume contests to decorating and virtual games, here's how to celebrate with any team, in office or remote.

halloween-office-ideas

Halloween Office Ideas: Costumes, Decor, Games and More

Get real ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at work, from trivia and lunch and learn authentic catering ideas your team will love.

hispanic-heritage-monthjpeg

How to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at Work

Need last-minute catering ideas for the office? Discover quick, budget-friendly options for sandwich platters, taco bars, and more.

last-minute-catering-ideas

8 last-minute catering ideas for the office

Discover the best Armenian dishes, from dolma to khorovats, and get ideas for bringing this flavorful cuisine to your next office catering order.

armenian-dishes-at-work

Armenian dishes and catering ideas for the office

Explore taco bar ideas with topping lists, portion tips, and full setup steps for any group size, including how to make office taco bars simple to pull off. 

taco-bar-ideas

Office Taco Bar Ideas: What to Order and How to Set It Up

Planning vegetarian catering ideas for the office? Get plant-based menu ideas, portion tips, and how DoorDash for Business simplifies dietary needs.

A table with vegetarian and vegan catering options.

vegetarian-vegan-catering-ideas

Vegetarian and vegan catering ideas for the office

Learn what halal certification means, how much to budget per person, and how to order for any corporate event.

halal-catering-workplace

Halal Catering for the Workplace: A Practical Guide

Planning kosher catering for the office? Learn what kosher certification means and how to budget and order for business meetings and corporate events.

kosher-catering-trays

Kosher Catering for the Workplace: Certification, Cost, and How to Order

Get 20 office party food ideas by format, group size, and budget, plus how to order office party catering or a Group Order without the stress.

party-office-food

20 Office Party Food Ideas for Every Team

Planning sushi catering for the office? Learn how many rolls per person to order, plus platter sizes and tips for stress-free group ordering.

sushi-catering

Sushi catering for the office: a complete ordering guide

Explore traditional Puerto Rican food, from mofongo to lechon, and find ideas to bring this vibrant cuisine to your office.

puerto-rican-food

Puerto Rican Food at Work: A Guide to the Island’s Best Dishes

Explore popular African dishes by region, from jollof rice to bobotie, and learn how to bring authentic African cuisine to your next office lunch order.

jollof-rice

African Cuisine: 12 Dishes to Try At Your Office

Planning office catering with gluten-free needs? Here are the best gluten-free catering ideas for workplace events, from cuisines to ordering tips.

gluten-free-catering

 Gluten-free catering ideas for office events

Looking for the best office snacks to keep your team energized? From healthy bites to easy delivery via DashMart, here’s what to order for your workplace.

a picture of a pantry with multiple snacks

office-snacks

Office Snacks: What to Order to Keep Your Team Fueled

Kargo uses Meal Budgets and Vouchers to offer an in-office meal benefit across NYC, LA, and Chicago, helping encourage workplace attendance while improving budget control and admin visibility.


DDfB - Kargo Case Study Image

How Kargo Uses DoorDash for Business to Support RTO and Control Meal Spend

Boston is famous for clam chowder, lobster rolls, and more. Here’s a guide to the city’s iconic foods, plus how to bring them to your team.

Familystyledinner topright eating RGB AdobeStock 111979999- social

What food is Boston known for? A regional cuisine guide for travelers and teams

Planning an Ethiopian food office lunch? Here’s what to order, how to explain the cuisine to your team, and how to make the order run smoothly.

Ethiopian-foods

Ethiopian Food Office Lunch: A Guide to East African Cuisine for Your Team

Breakfast drinks beat full catering when you need a quick treat. Ideas for every taste, plus how to let everyone pick their own without the chaos.

groupings coffee angeled rgb stocksy 6415728- social

Breakfast Drinks That Treat Your Team Without the Full Spread

Simplifying bulk meal orders for workplace teams starts with removing the manual steps. Here's how to run a big order without it stealing your morning.

2443-35b-0624 DD-Mx Yamashiro Register CxPickup 1973-RGB- social

How to Simplify Bulk Meal Orders for Workplace Teams

Planning corporate offsite catering? This guide covers budgeting, format, menu planning, and logistics so the food runs smoothly on the day.

A woman setting the catering for an offsite

DD27204 DDfB Shot 21 0922 1 ALT CMYK- social

United States

Catering for a corporate offsite: a step-by-step guide

National Smoothie Day is June 21. Here's how to celebrate it at work. Ideas for in-office, remote, and hybrid teams that are easy to pull off.

how-to-celebrate-smoothie-day

How to Celebrate National Smoothie Day at Work

KIPP Texas uses DoorDash for Business to streamline food ordering, improve visibility into transactions, and support staff across a large, distributed school network.


DDfB - KIPP Texas - Header

How KIPP Texas Simplifies Food Ordering Across 50 Schools 

From paid time off to team meals at Black-owned restaurants, here are eight practical ways to honor Juneteenth at work for in-office, hybrid, and remote teams.

how-to-celebrate-juneteeth

How to Recognize Juneteeth at Work In 2026

How to run a corporate dining program that feeds your team every day, across every office, without a cafeteria or a long-term food service contract.

Corporate Dining at Scale: How to Feed Your Team Without a Cafeteria

Low cost catering ideas that work: smart formats, ordering habits, and timing choices that cut the bill without making the food look cheap.

Dinner 12 topdown shawdows rgb 6775760- social

Low Cost Catering Ideas That Don't Look Like You Cut Corners

Chinese food is one of the most requested catering cuisines for office events, and for good reason. The menus are big, the price per person tends to be reasonable, and almost everyone on your team has eaten it before. But “everyone's had it before” can also work against you. It's easy to default to orange chicken, fried rice, and lo mein, call it a day, and end up with a table that feels like an arbitrary selection.

chinese-food-catering

How to Build the Right Chinese Food Catering Menu for an Office Event

You've been running the weekly team lunch for about two months now. Each time, you pick a restaurant, share the link, field the same Slack messages about allergies and dietary needs, and place the order. The program is working, technically. But you're starting to wonder how long you can keep doing this on top of everything else.
 That’s where many recurring meal programs start to break down. They’re often built using a format designed for one-time meals, then expected to repeat every week. The real test is simple: does the work get easier over time, or does the admin burden stay the same?
If it stays the same, the program probably has an expiration date.

best options for recurring corporate meals

How to Choose the Best Recurring Corporate Meal Program for Your Team

Planning brunch catering for your office? Here are 5 occasions where brunch works better than breakfast or lunch, plus menu ideas and ordering tips.

Brunch Catering Ideas

Brunch Catering Ideas That Give Your Team a Reason to Slow Down

From dietary inclusion to platform-based ordering, here are the workplace catering trends HR teams and office managers need to act on in 2026.



DDfB - Blog Post Image - Workplace Trends

6 Workplace Catering Trends Shaping Office Food in 2026

Pride Month shouldn’t feel performative. Here's how to use food, team moments, and intentional planning to build real inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees.

DDfB_Employee Lunch_Interim

Building an Inclusive Workplace Culture This Pride Month and Beyond

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ is coming to North America. Here's how to turn match days into team moments your office will remember all summer.

DDfB - Blog post image - World Cup Watch Party

How to Host an Amazing FIFA World Cup 2026™ Watch Party at the Office

Caribbean food catering ideas for offices: what dishes to order, how to balance flavors and spice tolerance, and make Caribbean cuisine work for your team.

Dx - Blog Post Image - Caribbean Food for the Office

Caribbean Food for the Office: 8 Top Dishes to Order for Catering

Laurel uses DoorDash for Business' Meal Manager to eliminate meal coordination busywork, return time to employees with dietary restrictions, and create a lunch program so compelling it tripled optional office day attendance.