[eli_awry]

As a vegetarian fed by ZeroCater, it feels like a lot of the time the thinking goes something like 'we have 20 meat-eaters and 3 vegetarians - let's get 20 lamb/chicken shish kebaps and 3 vegetables ones!' It sucks to have to make a meal out of sides, and it seems like the meals are structured most of the time such that quinoa salad or mac & cheese are perceived as being sides. And I don't think the solution is to tell meat-eaters not to eat vegetables - everyone deserves them. Anyway, I have to be very aggressive about getting to the front of the line for food. Also, sometimes the vegetarian option is just lo mein or a green salad - it rarely meets what I would consider a minimal nutritional standard of ~10-20 grams of protein. I pack protein powder to supplement my lunch. To be fair though, it is tasty!

[ricardobeat]

I'm curious, what's wrong with 20 meat/3 veg for these single-serve meals? Most meat-eaters wouldn't be happy being forced to eat the vegetarian option, that's bound to happen unless you provide more food than necessary. The rest of what you said only applies to a lunch not served in individual portions.

[eli_awry]

Because people help themselves to food, everyone takes like 1/2 meat and then the first six people take 1/2 veg as well. I agree, for single serving meals like sandwiches that are not easily dividable, it makes sense to only have a few vegetarian ones. But those meals are usually at least 60% not-meat for meat-eaters (bread, rice, veggies, whatever). Basically every other meal is not single serving, and the veggie entrees are seen as just another side. It's usually family style.