Quick Answer
MealPal helps companies offer restaurant meals as an employee lunch benefit. Employees choose from available meals at participating restaurants, reserve through MealPal, and pick up their lunch. Instead of coordinating a group order, the company provides a benefit that lets employees make individual choices.
Companies work with MealPal’s corporate team to discuss an arrangement based on their location, team size, budget, and goals. To explore the program, email [email protected] or visit MealPal’s corporate website to request a free lunch-and-learn.
What is MealPal for companies?
MealPal’s corporate program is a way for employers to provide restaurant meals as an employee benefit.
Employees choose their own meals from participating restaurants rather than relying on the company to select one lunch for everyone. MealPal’s discounted meal model can also help employers make their lunch budget go further.
The corporate arrangement is discussed during a consultation so the company can explore how the benefit would work for its team.
How does a corporate MealPal program work?
The company arranges the benefit with MealPal, while employees handle their individual meal choices.
1. Discuss the company’s needs
Start with the office location, number of employees, typical attendance, and approximate lunch budget.
MealPal’s corporate team can help assess local restaurant coverage and discuss the available arrangements. This is also the time to ask about employer contributions, employee payments, billing, and program terms.
2. Communicate the benefit to employees
Once the arrangement is established, explain who can participate, what the company covers, and how employees can get started.
Giving employees clear instructions helps them understand the benefit and know where to go with questions.
3. Employees choose and reserve their meals
Employees browse the meals available to them through MealPal and make their own reservations.
Coworkers can choose different restaurants and meals. The company does not need to collect everyone’s lunch preferences and combine them into a daily group order.
4. Employees pick up lunch
Employees follow MealPal’s pickup process at the participating restaurant.
The benefit gives employees individual choice while making lunch part of the company’s workplace offering.
How do employees choose their meals?
Employees browse the available meals from participating restaurants near them.
One employee might choose a salad, another a burrito bowl, and another a sandwich. The team does not need to agree on one restaurant or menu.
Restaurant and meal availability varies by location and day. MealPal meals cannot be customized, so employees should review the available options to find meals that suit their needs.
Anyone with a food allergy should confirm ingredients and preparation directly with the restaurant. Meal descriptions and dietary labels do not guarantee suitability.
What does the employer manage?
The employer decides what it wants the lunch benefit to accomplish and works with MealPal to establish the arrangement.
The company should be ready to discuss:
- Which employees will participate
- Where employees work
- How often the company wants to provide lunch
- How much the company wants to contribute
- Who will be responsible for administering the benefit
During the consultation, confirm how funding, billing, employee enrollment, and changes to participation will work. These details should be established before the benefit is introduced to employees.
Employees then make their own meal selections rather than asking an office manager to choose and order lunch for the group.
Can MealPal help companies save money on lunch?
MealPal offers discounted meals from participating restaurants. That can help a company provide restaurant lunch for less than employees would otherwise pay for those meals.
The relevant comparison is the total cost of providing the benefit. Consider the employer’s contribution, any employee contribution, applicable fees, and how regularly employees will use the program.
A company comparing MealPal with catering or delivery should use the same team size and lunch frequency for each option. This makes it easier to see what the company is spending and what employees receive.
For a more detailed discussion, read The Best Employee Lunch Benefit? Comparing Meal Stipends vs MealPal.
How can MealPal reduce daily lunch coordination?
With MealPal, employees choose their own lunches.
That removes the need for someone at the company to collect individual orders, select a shared menu, and coordinate everyone’s choices each day.
The company still needs to administer the benefit, but daily meal selection sits with employees. Billing and any expense-report requirements should be clarified as part of the corporate arrangement.
What are the benefits for employees?
MealPal can give employees:
- A choice of meals from participating restaurants
- The ability to select lunch independently
- Access to discounted restaurant meals
- A pickup option near the workplace
- Variety across the available daily options
The value of the benefit depends on the company’s contribution and how well nearby restaurant options fit employees’ routines and preferences.
How is MealPal different from office catering?
Office catering generally brings a group meal to the workplace. Someone selects the food, estimates attendance, and coordinates the order.
MealPal lets employees choose and pick up their own meals from participating restaurants.
Catering can be useful for meetings, events, and planned shared lunches. MealPal can fit recurring office lunches when employees want different meals and have participating restaurants nearby.
A company can use both: MealPal for regular lunch benefits and catering for occasions when a group meal makes sense.
How is MealPal different from a lunch stipend?
A lunch stipend provides an allowance employees can spend according to company policy.
MealPal provides access to discounted meals from participating restaurants. Employees choose from the meals available through the platform rather than spending an allowance at any eligible restaurant.
A stipend may offer broader flexibility across locations and ordering methods. MealPal can fit companies that want a recurring restaurant lunch benefit near the office.
The two approaches can also overlap if a company allows its stipend to be used toward MealPal.
Read the MealPal vs. lunch stipends guide for a fuller comparison.
Which companies are a good fit for MealPal?
MealPal can be a good fit for companies where:
- Employees regularly work near participating restaurants
- Employees are comfortable picking up lunch
- Individual meal choice matters
- The company wants to offer lunch regularly
- The team wants to reduce daily group-order coordination
- The available corporate arrangement fits the company’s budget
Checking restaurant coverage near the workplace is a useful first step.
Companies whose employees need delivery, extensive meal customization, or coverage across many different locations may want to compare other options or discuss those needs during the consultation.
Is MealPal only for large companies?
No. MealPal has worked with teams as small as five employees.
A smaller team can offer a lunch benefit without operating a cafeteria or arranging a group order every day. Larger companies can also explore the program based on their locations, employee needs, and budget.
For guidance on planning a benefit for a smaller team, read How to Offer Lunch Benefits at a Small Company (Even With Just 5–20 Employees).
Can MealPal work for hybrid teams?
MealPal can work for hybrid teams when employees have participating restaurants near the locations where they use the benefit.
Individual reservations reduce the need for the company to predict how many people will want a catered lunch on a particular day.
Before choosing an arrangement, explain the team’s attendance pattern to MealPal’s corporate team. Discuss whether the benefit is intended for office days, remote days, or both, and confirm how the program’s terms fit that schedule.
Can a lunch benefit make office days more appealing?
A company contribution toward lunch can reduce employees’ personal lunch costs and make office days more convenient.
Giving employees individual meal choices can also help a team accommodate different tastes without selecting one menu for everyone.
Lunch is one part of the employee experience. Its usefulness depends on whether employees enjoy the available meals and can access them conveniently.
How can a company get started with MealPal?
Email [email protected] or visit MealPal’s corporate website to request a free lunch-and-learn for your team.
Have the following information ready:
- Company name
- Office location or ZIP code
- Number of employees
- Typical office attendance
- Approximate lunch budget
- What you want the benefit to provide
The conversation can help you assess restaurant coverage and discuss the corporate arrangement before deciding whether MealPal fits your company.
What should a company consider before choosing MealPal?
Start with the employee experience: are there participating restaurants nearby, do the available meals suit the team, and is pickup convenient?
Then consider the employer’s needs: does the arrangement fit the budget, attendance pattern, and available administrative support?
MealPal can be a useful way to offer discounted restaurant meals while giving employees control over their lunch choices. A consultation helps turn that general fit into a plan for your company.
Related Articles
- The Best Employee Lunch Benefit? Comparing Meal Stipends vs MealPal
- How to Offer Lunch Benefits at a Small Company (Even With Just 5–20 Employees)
