Food Service Programs · Workplaces
Employee Meal Programs for Chicagoland Workplaces
Food is the incentive that gets people back in the building. Weekly chef-delivered lunches or a daily meal program, a menu that rotates easily, built to the budget you need to stay within.
Cooked from scratch in Schaumburg. A Frato’s chef runs your account, not a sales rep.
Or call: (847) 895-2122
Why Companies Are Feeding Their People Again
Remote work made the office optional. The companies winning people back are giving them a reason to come in, and a good lunch is the reason that works every day. It is the one perk everyone uses.
An incentive people feel
Lunch handled on the days you want people in. The team knows which days are worth the commute.
Happiness, not just fuel
Scratch-cooked food that people look forward to, with options so no one eats the same thing twice in a row.
A number you control
You set the budget and the days. We build the program to fit, and we keep it there.
What the Research Says
Studies and large surveys, with the source next to each number so you can check them.
Teams that eat together perform better
A Cornell University field study of firefighters, published in Human Performance (2015), found that work groups that ate together received higher team-performance ratings than groups that ate separately. Cornell Chronicle
Free lunch brings people in
In ezCater’s July 2024 survey of 5,000 full-time U.S. workers, 58% of hybrid employees said they would work on-site three days a week if their employer provided free lunch. ezCater, 2024
Food and retention
In a 2023 ezCater survey of 1,002 employees whose employers provide food, 46% said employer-provided food makes them more likely to stay at their company. ezCater, 2023
Diet and productivity
A study of 19,803 employees published in Population Health Management (2012) found that workers with unhealthy diets were 66% more likely to report lost productivity than those who ate well. Merrill et al., PubMed
Three Ways to Run It
Pick the one that fits your building and your budget. Companies move between them as the team grows.
Weekly chef-delivered lunch
One day a week, or more. A chef delivers a bar or trays, sets up, and the team builds their own plates. Re-order by email, rotate the menu each week. One corporate account ran it weekly at minimum.
Daily meal program
Every service day, breakfast, lunch or dinner. A two-week rotation built for your team, individually packed meals or family-style pans, dietary needs planned per person, delivered hot or cold-packed for your break room. Billed weekly on a contract.
Prepped for your own kitchen
Have a commissary or an on-site kitchen? We supply scratch-cooked components prepped and packed so your team finishes and serves. A smaller kitchen handles higher volume, and your staff does less.
Built to the Budget, Not the Other Way Around
Most meal services hand you a menu and a price. We start with your number and your days, then build the menu to fit. Where the money goes is mostly labor and delivery, not food, so the format is the lever:
Pans cost less than packed meals
Family-style pans your team portions are the lowest-cost hot format.
One delivery, two meals
Breakfast riding along with lunch costs less than two trips.
Reheat on site, save more
Cold-packed delivery your break room reheats is the lowest-cost option of all.
Two portion sizes
A half pound of food or a full pound of food per meal. Both chef-crafted from scratch, both custom to your specifications, both built to your budget.
Breakfast, lunch or dinner
Any meal, any combination, on the days you choose. Every program gets its own rotation, built for that team.
A menu that rotates easily
Two-week rotation to start, a third week once favorites are proven, options swapped in whenever you want. Examples from menus we cook today:
Example 7-day lunch or dinner rotation
Sesame Chicken Stir Fry · Gourmet Tacos and Rice · Chicken Lo Mein · Cuban Beef Rice Bowls · Handmade Burger Bar · Italian Spaghetti & Meatballs · Mediterranean Gyro Pita Bar
Bowls
Taco Rice Bowl · Chicken Burrito Bowl · BBQ Bowl · Gyro Bowl with pita · Korean Bowl · Sesame Chicken with rice
Comfort and classics
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce · Creamy Dreamy Alfredo · Chicken Enchiladas · Burgers with pasta salad · Scratch pizza
Lighter and backups
Chicken or veggie Caesar salad · Buffalo chicken salad (dairy-free path) · Cold subs on Turano bread
Weekly bars
Mediterranean Pita Bar · Gourmet Taco Bar · Korean BBQ Bar · Tikka Masala Bar · Chicago Bowls
Dietary Needs, Planned Per Person
Factory food arrives in fixed boxes, so most services can only swap items off a list. We cook from scratch, so we build a separate path for each person who needs one and label every meal.
- Food allergies
- Halal
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free and dairy-free paths
- Medical diets such as GERD and lactose-free
- Each meal labeled
- Nut-free food service area: no peanuts or tree nuts in food service meals
How Your Program Starts
No package to pick from. We build it with you.
1
A conversation
Headcount, the days you want covered, eat times, dietary needs, service format, and the budget you have in mind.
2
The build
Weekly, daily or prepped for your kitchen. A rotation, portions, backups, a dietary path for each person who needs one.
3
Agreement, then sampling
A non-binding agreement with a first-week opt-out. Then a complimentary sampling. If it is not right, you can cancel.
4
Launch with your chef
Your chef runs it day to day, swaps options as favorites emerge, and is the person you call.
The chef who built your menu is the one who answers when something changes.
Employee Meal Program FAQ
What is the difference between weekly catering and a daily meal program?
Weekly catering is an event order: bars and trays delivered and set up by a chef on a set day, re-ordered as you go. A daily meal program is a recurring service: a custom rotation, packed meals or pans every service day, planned per person, billed weekly on a contract. Many companies start weekly and move to daily once the team gets used to it.
How do you keep it inside our budget?
You tell us the budget per person and the days you want covered. We build the menu and the service format to fit it. Pans cost less than individually packed meals, and one delivery carrying two meals costs less than two deliveries, so there is usually a way to get there.
How often does the menu change?
A two-week rotation to start, with a third week added once favorites are proven. Options can be swapped in whenever you want, and your chef adjusts the rotation as the team tells you what they like.
Can you handle dietary needs across a big team?
Yes, per person: allergies, halal, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free paths, and medical diets. Each meal is labeled, and food service meals are made in a nut-free area of our Schaumburg kitchen. Because we cook from scratch, we change an ingredient instead of dropping the dish.
We have our own kitchen or commissary. Can you work with it?
Yes. We can supply scratch-cooked components prepped and packed so your own team finishes and serves on site, which lets a smaller kitchen handle higher volume. Or we deliver ready to serve. Your choice, and it can change.
Do you deliver hot, or do we reheat?
Either. Individually packed meals and family-style pans are delivered hot. If you have a break room with a microwave or an oven, cold-packed delivery that your team reheats is the lowest-cost format.
Can we try it first?
Yes. Once the program is built and a non-binding agreement is in place, we schedule a complimentary sampling. The agreement includes a first-week opt-out.
Who runs our account?
A Frato’s chef. You deal with the chef who runs your program, not a sales rep and not a different cook each week.
Where do you deliver?
Our kitchen is at 628 S. Roselle Road in Schaumburg and we deliver corporate programs across Chicagoland, including Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elk Grove Village, Arlington Heights, Itasca, Rolling Meadows and Des Plaines. Call (847) 895-2122 or send the inquiry form and a chef will confirm your location.
Tell a Chef About Your Team
Headcount, the days, dietary needs and the budget you have in mind. A chef builds the program with you from there.
Call: (847) 895-2122 · Catering@FratosKitchen.com
Frato’s Personal Chef Catering & Food Service · 628 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg, IL 60193 · All food service programs · Private schools · Daycare & early childhood