--- title: "Give crew meals at your event meal desk | Ticket Fairy Guides" description: "Run the crew catering counter at your event from each person's pass: scan it, see the meals left today and their dietary needs, and give a meal against their allowance. To give an extra meal, you enter a reason and we keep your name with it. The kitchen sees how many meals to expect each day, with the dietary needs counted." canonical: "https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/give-crew-meals-at-your-meal-desk" --- 1. [Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/) 2. [Guides](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) 3. Give crew meals at your event meal desk Crew and volunteers # Give crew meals at your event meal desk Festival production and catering managers feed crew, volunteers and performers against meal allowances, usually with paper tickets that get lost, shared or used twice. At the meal desk, you count each meal against the person's pass and see their dietary needs at the counter, and the kitchen gets a forecast for every day of the event. Takes: 5 minutes - [Open Meals](#step-1) - [Scan the pass](#step-2) - [Give the meal](#step-3) - [Someone with no meals left](#step-4) - [Check the kitchen forecast](#step-5) - [Print the kitchen sheet](#step-6) ## Before you start - You are an owner, admin or producer on the event. Only those roles can open the event's **Operations** page. - Your pass types have **Meals per day**, set under Zones and pass types in Accreditation, and the passes are issued. 1. ## Open Meals Open the event, select **Operations**, then select **Meals** in the list of sections. **Note:** Meals opens on the **Meal desk**, with the cursor in the scan field. If Meals is not in the list, select **More sections** and open it there. ![Meal desk with a runner's pass scanned, one of two meals left today and their vegetarian and nut allergy needs](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-desk--meal-desk.png) *The meal desk with a pass scanned.* 2. ## Scan the pass Scan the code on the ticket or badge, or enter part of the name in **Scan a pass or enter a name**. **Note:** The card shows the meals they have left today and their dietary needs, with their own note and any note from their artist advance. 3. ## Give the meal Select **Give a meal**. **Note:** The desk says how many meals they have left today, and the field empties for the next scan. Today is the event's own day in its time zone. ## Someone with no meals left The card says **No meals left today**, or that the pass has no meals today. To give one anyway, enter the reason in **Why are you giving an extra meal?** and select **Give a meal anyway**. We keep your name and the reason with the meal, and the kitchen report lists every extra meal by team member. 4. ## Check the kitchen forecast Select **Kitchen and reports** at the top of Meals. **Note:** Each day shows the meals expected with the dietary needs counted, the meals served, and meals on passes not issued yet. Choose a **Day** to see each group's allowance and what it ate. ![Kitchen and reports for a festival, with meals expected each day, dietary needs counted, meals served, extra meals by team member and dietary notes from artist advances](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-desk--kitchen-and-reports.png) *Meals expected and served, day by day.* 5. ## Print the kitchen sheet Select **Print kitchen sheet**, then select **Print**. **Note:** The sheet shows the counts, dietary needs and performer notes, and no other personal details. ![Kitchen sheet ready to print, with the meals expected and served each day and the dietary needs](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-desk--kitchen-sheet.png) *The kitchen sheet.* ## Or have it done for you Fai, your AI teammate, can check sales, update your event or change a ticket when you ask. Fai finds a pass at the meal desk, records a meal or an extra meal with its reason, undoes the last meal, and reads you the kitchen forecast and who ate. She shows you the pass and waits for your yes before she records a meal. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` How many meals should the kitchen expect at tomorrow, and how many are vegetarian or gluten-free? ``` ## Give a whole team's meals to one collector 1. ### Choose the team On the meal desk, select **Collect for a team**, then choose the team. **Note:** Each team shows how many of its people can still eat today. ![Dialog to collect meals for a team at the meal desk, with a PA supplier and the stage crew and how many of each can still eat today](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-crew-meals--collect-for-a-team.png) *Collect meals for a team.* 2. ### Give the meals Untick anyone who is not eating now, enter the name in **Who is collecting**, then select the button that shows how many meals you're giving. **Note:** Each meal comes off that person's meals for today. Anyone with no meal left or no issued pass is skipped, and the desk says how many. Fai gives a team's meals to a named collector when you ask, after you confirm, and tells you who was skipped. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Jo from Northern PA Hire is collecting lunch for their crew at ``` ## Give an act's drinks 1. ### Scan a pass from the act's travel party Scan the pass at the meal desk. **Note:** **Drinks today** on the card shows how many drinks are left today from the act's drinks allowance. Only passes for an act's travel party include drinks. ![Meal desk with an act's travel party pass scanned, with meals left today and 4 of 6 drinks left](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-small-items--act-drinks.png) *An act's drinks on the meal desk.* 2. ### Give the drink Select **Give a drink**. **Note:** You need a connection to give drinks, and the desk tells you when it has none. **Undo drink** takes back the latest drink today, which stays in the history. 3. ### Give a drink beyond today's allowance When today's drinks are used up, enter the reason in **Why give a drink beyond today's allowance?**, then select **Give a drink anyway**. **Note:** We keep the reason with the drink. On a desk link that can't let people through, the desk asks for a supervisor instead. ![Meal desk card for an act whose drinks for today are used up, with Give a drink anyway and a reason](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-small-items--drinks-used-up.png) *Today's drinks used up.* Fai gives or undoes a drink for a pass from an act's travel party, after you confirm, and gives one beyond the allowance only with your reason. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Give one of Nova Lights' crew a drink at , pass code TF-7702-1188 ``` ## Undo a meal 1. ### Undo the last meal Scan the pass, select **Undo last meal**, then select **Undo meal**. **Note:** The person gets the meal back for today. The meal stays in the history with the undo beside it. Fai undoes a person's last meal today when you ask, after you confirm. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Undo the meal we gave Ana Ruiz a minute ago at , it was scanned twice ``` ## See who ate 1. ### Open who ate In Kitchen and reports, select **Who ate**. **Note:** Each meal shows who gave it and the reason for any extra meal. Select **Download this list** for a file of the day. ![List of who ate on the festival Saturday, with who gave each meal and the reason for an extra meal](https://www.ticketfairy.com/embeds/posters/marketing-event-desk--who-ate.png) *Who ate on the day.* Fai reads you the meals given on a day, the extra meals and who gave them. ### In your dashboard, with Fai ``` Who was given an extra meal at today, and by whom? ``` ## Questions you might have **Where does each person's meal allowance come from?** From the pass type's Meals per day. A person on the rota gets one meal for each shift that starts that day, or two for a shift of 8 hours or more, up to the pass type's meals per day. **Where do the dietary needs come from?** From the food needs each person gives on their My shifts page or at the desk, from a volunteer's application until they give them, and from the hospitality answers on each performer's advance. A performer's note covers their whole party, so the kitchen report lists it by performer rather than counting it per person. **What if two counters scan the same pass at once?** Each meal is counted against the same allowance, so the second counter sees the meals left after the first one. Once the allowance is used up, you need a reason to give another meal. **Does the meal desk work without a connection?** Yes. Keep giving meals. We keep each one on the device and send it when the connection is back, and it counts on the day you gave it if it's sent within 12 hours. You need a connection to collect for a team. **Can a caterer run the meal desk without a dashboard login?** Yes. Select **Share a desk link** at the top of Meals and make a meal service point link for their phone or tablet. **Why is the kitchen forecast empty?** None of your pass types has meals per day yet. Select **Open Passes** and set Meals per day on the pass types under Zones and pass types. ## Still have a question? Book a demo and we will answer it on a call, on your kind of event. Or create your account and see it for yourself. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## Related guides - [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features) - [Plan crew meal times and food needs for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/plan-crew-meal-times-and-food-needs-for-your-event) - [Charge outside teams for the crew meals they eat at your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/charge-outside-teams-for-their-crew-meals) - [Let event staff work a desk from their phone with a desk link](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/let-event-staff-work-a-desk-from-their-phone) - [Hand out accreditation passes at your event desk](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/hand-out-accreditation-passes-at-your-desk) - [Build your event rota and check staff in](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/build-your-event-rota-and-check-staff-in) - [Recruit volunteers for your event](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides/recruit-volunteers-for-your-event) - [Every Ticket Fairy guide](https://www.ticketfairy.com/guides) ## Do this on your own event Create your account, build your event and follow the steps in your own dashboard. You do not need to book a sales call. [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) ## Sell tickets with Ticket Fairy Start free with unlimited events and no monthly fee, and choose a paid plan when you need more. - Set up your event in minutes - Free events are free - Fai, your AI teammate, is built in [Create a free account](https://manage.ticketfairy.com/welcome) No setup fees. No monthly fee. No credit card required. ## See it on a call Book a demo and we will show you how Ticket Fairy handles your kind of event. [Book a demo](https://www.ticketfairy.com/event-ticketing/book-a-demo) [More ways to use Ticket Fairy](https://www.ticketfairy.com/features) ### Tips for selling more tickets Practical advice from working event organizers, and every new guide as it is published. We respect your privacy. 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