Workshop Planning
Food & Refreshments card, MethodKit for Workshop Planning
Card 18 of 60 · MethodKit for Workshop Planning
  • ThemeLogistics & venue
  • CardCard 18 of 60
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Logistics & venue

Food & Refreshments

Will the participants have enough fuel & energy?

Hungry or thirsty people do not think well, and the quality of the catering sends a signal about how much you value the participants' time.

Food and refreshments covers everything from morning coffee and fruit to a full lunch and afternoon snacks: what is served, when, and whether it matches the needs of the group. This is not a luxury detail. Energy in the room is directly affected by whether people are fed and hydrated. A heavy lunch at noon can hollow out an afternoon session.

Dietary requirements are a practical need, not a preference. Knowing in advance who is vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, allergic to nuts, or keeping halal or kosher means you can order the right food rather than scrambling on the day or leaving someone without anything to eat.

The catering also shapes the break. A proper lunch break is social time. People process the morning and build the relationships that make the afternoon work. Rushing it or providing food that requires navigating a buffet in a hallway undermines that.

Easy to missCollect dietary requirements with the registration, not as a follow-up the day before, because getting them late means you are calling the caterer under time pressure with no guarantee they can adjust.

How experienced facilitators handle it

The same building block, handled by people who have run a lot of workshops. Patterns and illustrations to react to, not rules to follow.

Match food to the programme

Experienced facilitators plan what is served around the schedule: light food before active exercises, nothing too heavy before a stretch that needs concentration, and coffee available at the right moments, not just at fixed breaks.

Confirm requirements in advance

They collect dietary needs at registration and confirm with the caterer a few days before, keeping a list on hand so they can check on the day that every requirement is covered.

Account for the social function

They treat the lunch break as part of the design: long enough for people to eat without rushing, arranged so participants mix rather than cluster with the same people they already know.

Have a backup for the unknown requirement

They keep something safe and substantial on the table (fruit, nuts, plain crackers, a vegan option that doubles as a fallback) for the person whose requirement was missed or who did not register.

Questions to plan around

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

  1. What dietary requirements does the group have, and are they all accounted for in the order?

  2. Does the timing and type of food match what the programme needs at each point in the day?

  3. Is there a break long enough for people to eat and have a real conversation?

  4. Who is responsible for coordinating the catering on the day if something is wrong or missing?

  5. Is there enough water and coffee available throughout, not only at official breaks?

Watch for

  • One person with an unmet dietary requirement at lunch derails the break and the facilitator's focus for a significant chunk of the day.
  • A heavy, carbohydrate-rich lunch is the most reliable way to lose the first 45 minutes of the afternoon to low energy.
  • Water on the tables is not always provided by default; ask specifically, because a dry room during a long workshop is a slow drain on everyone's concentration.