Free workplace meal toolkit
Office lunch order form template and employee meal tracker
Collect employee lunch selections with a clear cutoff, dietary notes and a downloadable order sheet. Group quantities by date and shift before requesting catering.
LunchLink Editorial Team
Workplace catering research
LunchLink
Published source and calculation checks; no clinical review claimed
Direct answer
The short answer
An office lunch order form needs an attendee identifier, meal date, site or shift, attendance status, one meal choice and a separate field for dietary requests. Publish a short approved menu, set a clear cutoff and reconcile one selection per person per meal service before sending quantities to the caterer.
Use the free kit
Collect replies. Prepare the meal count.
Copy questions into your organization’s Google or Microsoft Form, or use the printable sheet. Then enter or import the replies in LunchLink’s private browser planner. No sales email is required.
Copy the questions and invitation wording
WORKPLACE MEAL RESPONSE Event: [name] Service: [date, location and meal] Response deadline: [date, time and timezone] Organizer: [contact] Attendee ID or name Meal date (YYYY-MM-DD) Site / shift Will you eat this meal? Yes / Maybe / No Meal choice (use the organizer’s approved options) Dietary requirements (select all that apply): Vegetarian; Vegan; Halal requested; Kosher requested; Gluten-free requested; Dairy-free requested; No pork; No beef; Jain / no onion or garlic; Other / discuss privately; None Food allergies / cross-contact notes (optional; private organizer follow-up) Please contact me privately: Yes / No Requests are reviewed with the caterer; submitting a form does not confirm accommodation. Please contact [organizer] privately about unclear requirements. Named responses are used for meal planning and shared only with those arranging the meal. Do not post personal dietary details in a public channel. INVITATION Please complete [form link] for [meal/event] by [deadline]. Confirm whether you will eat this meal and use the private follow-up option for any requirements needing discussion. We will review the plan with the caterer before confirming arrangements. REMINDER Responses for [meal/date/shift] close [deadline]. If you have not replied or your plans changed, please use [form link] or contact [organizer]. Changes after this deadline go directly to [organizer]; the supplier’s confirmed final-count cutoff is [cutoff].
Set up Google Forms or Microsoft Forms
Quick setup: create a form in your organization’s account, copy the questions above, choose appropriate response access and add your organizer contact and deadline. For one respondent’s several services, request one response per date/service. The planner does not host a shared response form.
Optional Google generator: download the Apps Script, open a new project at script.google.com, paste the file and run createLunchLinkMealForm. It creates a new draft form and response spreadsheet in your account. It does not publish the form, email attendees or send data to LunchLink. Google asks you to authorize Forms and Sheets access; review the script first. Review questions, sharing, response settings and menu choices before publishing. Organization policies may restrict scripts.
Microsoft Forms: copy the question bank into a new form. Review who can respond and whether names are recorded. Use its response export for Excel; rename columns to match the CSV template before importing into the browser planner.
Keep responses private: do not publish response summaries or a named allergy list. Check whether respondent sign-in is suitable for staff without work accounts. Compare the responses with your invitation list to find non-responders. Use your own email or Teams process for reminders; this toolkit does not automatically send messages.
Google sharing instructions · Microsoft template instructions
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Offer an approved shortlist rather than an unrestricted restaurant menu.
- Keep meal choices, attendance and dietary requests in separate columns.
- A collected meal selection is a request until the menu and order are confirmed.
Choose the menu before collecting orders
Use this form when employees can choose specific dishes. If you are still researching general preferences, use the employee lunch preferences survey instead. If you only need dietary information for a shared buffet, use the dietary survey.
Agree the proposed menu and availability with the supplier first. Use clear labels such as Option A - chicken rice box and Option B - vegetable curry box. List known ingredients and limitations supplied by the kitchen, and provide a way to ask about suitability. A menu description alone should not be used as proof of dietary accommodation.
Copy these order fields
Use one row for one employee's meal on one date and service. A person attending lunch and dinner needs two rows because two meals will be prepared. Their attendance at another service should not be inferred.
| Field | Example | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Attendee ID or name | Staff-014 | Match the selection at pickup |
| Meal date | 2026-11-27 | Keep daily orders separate |
| Site / shift | Brampton / afternoon | Assign delivery and receiving |
| Will you eat this meal? | Yes | Avoid counting tentative replies as confirmed |
| Meal choice | Option B | Total the actual requested boxes |
| Dietary requirements / private follow-up | Review requested | Confirm changes before ordering |
Set a response deadline and a change process
State the response deadline in the invitation and at the top of the form, including the timezone. Leave time between that deadline and the supplier's final-count cutoff. Explain who handles changes after the form closes.
Use the same attendee identifier for corrections. Before counting an exported file, reconcile repeated responses for the same date and shift. The LunchLink planner rejects ambiguous duplicates rather than choosing a response for you. Keep a note of which order version the caterer accepted.
Reconcile pickup and receiving
Compare the counted choices with the quantities confirmed by the caterer. Agree meal labels and a receiving contact for each delivery. Check drinks, utensils, napkins and packaging separately; they are not automatically included because a meal is individually boxed.
Keep dietary meals within the total order quantity. If 40 people confirmed lunch and six require review, the starting count is 40 portions, with six allocations to confirm. Do not order 46 by adding the special allocations again.
Research and limitations
How this guide was prepared
Prepared from the primary references below and LunchLink's workplace meal-planning workflow. Examples and worksheet data are fictional. Template fields and counting rules are original planning recommendations, not a clinical assessment or a claim of legal compliance. Software interfaces and organization settings can change; check the actual form before sharing.
Important limits
- Collect a separate response for each person and meal service. Reconcile duplicate IDs before using totals.
- An allergy or dietary request is not an accepted accommodation. Confirm the complete meal and preparation arrangements with the chosen kitchen.
- Forms and tracker copies remain under the organizer's control. Keep named responses private and share only the information required for the meal.
- LunchLink catering availability, minimums, prices and delivery windows in Toronto and the GTA are confirmed in a written quote.
Sources reviewed
- Publish and share a form with responders
Google Docs Editors Help · reviewed 2026-10-28
- Microsoft Forms and Excel workbooks
Microsoft Support · reviewed 2026-10-28
- Tips for food catering
Food Allergy Canada · reviewed 2026-10-28
