ᐅ Catering for construction workers during the building phase

Good morning,

we are slowly approaching the critical phase; our house framing is scheduled for the end of May. My wife is now wondering how and how often you should provide food for the tradespeople... We need support for about 4 months from the framing stage until handover, and obviously, it’s not feasible to bring food every day for 4 months straight.

How did you handle this? How often do you think it makes sense to provide food, and at which stages of the construction project? And what did you bring? (The good old meatloaf sandwich is probably not so popular anymore.)

Thanks, Jörg

Good morning!
We rarely had "normal" meals, but we regularly had cake. Thanks to relatives, coffee was even available daily if needed.

Otherwise, we provided soft drinks and water. Beer was rarely accepted when offered (it was never just standing there).

And yes, everyone we talked to about food said they couldn’t stand meatloaf anymore... (so I usually offered sausages instead).

Wasn’t there already a thread about this here!?

Anyway, on the day the house was set up, we provided enough food—sandwiches, sausages, drinks, etc. For the rest of the time, we didn’t have a continuous supply because, on one hand, the contractors brought their own food, not everyone eats everything, and also there weren’t craftsmen on site every (planned or announced) day. Therefore, it wasn’t predictable whether providing food would be necessary or not. When we visited and knew there was activity on the construction site, we sometimes brought sandwiches and cold cuts or some cookies.

Drinks (water, coffee, after-work beer) were basically always available on site. We provided a coffee machine, which was gladly used. The beer tended to last the longest.

But basically, the craftsmen seem to appreciate it when something is provided, although they don’t expect it—at least ours don’t.

It’s hard to believe, but the workers are paid for their job and usually bring their own lunch. Do you go to work without lunch if there’s no canteen or similar option?

During the construction phase, you are rarely on site, so naturally, there’s nothing provided. If you participate yourself, you can certainly offer to bring or arrange something occasionally. Warm meals for lunch are usually appreciated (like fries with curry sausage, kebab, pizza, etc.) if the builder has it ready right on time for the break.

Otherwise, on weekends, it’s definitely a nice gesture to include the hardworking people somehow in the meal.

Winter specifics: Coffee is appreciated in winter when people have to work in the cold.
Summer: Cold drinks are very welcome when the sun is beating down.

Offering food doesn’t improve the construction work itself. The workers don’t put in more effort because of it. In fact, it could even be the opposite, as you interrupt their work but they still only have the same amount of time...

On construction sites, there was ALWAYS: a case of non-alcoholic Flens, a case of sparkling water. Always cake. Every day, 5 days a week, for 5 months.

I don’t think anything is really necessary. These are adults who won’t forget to eat if you don’t provide anything. In developer projects, commercial buildings, etc., there usually won’t be anything offered either.

I consider cake as a good snack. Or water in the summer. Someone here also mentioned having a fridge on the construction site—I think that’s more valuable than “forcing” everyone to have lunch.