[s1artibartfast]

I would agree with that statement, I just dont think it describes this situation. It was never the employees money. It was permission to spend company money on food.

Giving an employee keys to the safe is not the same as giving them the contents.

[withinboredom]

Depends on how it was worded and/or explained to the employee. Was it: "if you stay late, the company gives you an extra 25 bucks so you can eat dinner at work" or "if you stay late, you are given a 25 bucks stipend that can only be used for food"?

The former sounds like extra money that I can do whatever I want with, while the latter is much more explicit.