Tips for purchasing food and drink for a talk

While cookies, donuts and chocolate are always a safe bet, I have seen that fruits and vegetables are highly appreciated as well. They are really cheap, but require some work, as apples, stem cabbages, peppers ... have to be cut into pieces of finger food size. Cutting and preparing plates for 50 people takes something between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on whether you just want to serve food or have a nice presentation as well.

Background: as an undergrad, worked with/ran my campus programming board (lots of food purchasing for events). As a graduate student, worked with grad student association to run the odd event. And have organized multiple lab events.

What should you buy:

• Coffee and donuts are a classic -- you can't go wrong, especially if the talk is in the morning.
• For a lunchtime talk, pizza is a cheap/popular option. Alternatively, subs are occasionally a good option (but more expensive and usually a bit messier).
• For evening talks, aim for light hors d'oeuvres (cookies, mini-meatballs, cheese & fruit platter, etc.).
• Alternatively, just stick with donuts and coffee for everything -- again, you really can't go wrong there :)
• Don't forget napkins, plates, cups, plasticware, etc.!

Where you should buy it:

• Starbucks offers what they call coffee travelers. Each has 96 fl. oz. (~2.8 L) of coffee and will keep warm for ~3 hours (in my experience). Be warned: you'll need to call ahead and order these (they prepare them fresh as needed).

• For donuts: pickup 4-5 dozen donuts from a local donut shop (Dunkin' Donuts or Krispy Kreme in the U.S.). Alternatively, try contacting the bakery at your local supermarket -- given a couple of day's notice, they can probably prepare several dozen donuts for you to pick up.

• The local supermarket (Kroger, Wegmans, Walmart, etc.) is actually a great place for placing catering orders like this. They can do pretty much anything - subs, baked goods, cheese & fruit platters, you name it. Many will already carry pre-made platters, so you don't even have to order ahead of time.

One last idea: contact your school's dining services. They're usually (a lot) more expensive, but they have some nice services such as:

• All-in-one packages
• Drop-off/cleanup services
• Nicer linens/plates/etc.
• Continous coffee carafes, water carafes, etc.

Last but not least -- get itemized receipts for everything. Businesses should have no problem providing these if you ask. Makes reimbursement much easier.