What are Meal Tickets?

Meal tickets (also called meal vouchers) are vouchers given to crew, staff, volunteers and artists at an event, which they exchange for meals at the catering area during their shift. They control catering costs and make sure everyone working gets fed.

How meal tickets work

Most events use meal tickets in a similar way:

  1. Plan numbers: production works out how many people are working each meal, using crew and staff schedules.
  2. Allocate: each department head or artist team is given a set number of tickets per meal or per day.
  3. Issue: tickets are handed out at sign-in, with credentials, or by the department head.
  4. Redeem: people exchange a ticket for a meal at crew catering during set serving times.
  5. Reconcile: the caterer counts the tickets collected and invoices the event for the meals served.

Knowing how many people are on shift at each meal is the key to ordering the right amount of food, which is why many teams plan staff shifts in Crescat.

Meal tickets vs buyouts

A meal ticket gives a meal from the event's caterer. A buyout gives cash instead, so people can buy their own food. Events with crew catering usually use tickets, while smaller shows without catering often give buyouts to artists and crew. Some events use both, giving tickets to crew and buyouts to artists.

What a meal ticket usually shows

  • Event name and date
  • Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner or late meal
  • Department or artist name
  • Serial number or barcode to prevent copying
  • Where and when it can be used

Frequently asked questions

Who gets meal tickets at an event?

Usually crew, staff, volunteers and artists working long shifts. The number per person depends on shift length, and is often set out in crew and artist contracts or the hospitality rider.

What happens if you lose a meal ticket?

Ask your department head or the production office. Some events reissue tickets, but many treat them like cash and won't replace lost ones, so keep them with your pass.

Do meal tickets have a cash value?

No. Meal tickets can only be exchanged for food at the event's catering, and usually only on the day and meal printed on them.

Related terms