I'm curious on what do you guys feed your cast in crew on a small budget? I can't really offer them a full catering service but I'll definitely anything I can to keep them full and less cranky... 
Food for the cast and crew
- Thread starter justinisfilming
- Start date
Funny enough we have twizzlers or red vines on every set haha.
Spaghetti is cheap if someone can cook it! Little Caesar $5 pizzas are cheap if you have someone to get them.
Honestly, when directing or producing food is the last thing I want to think about, there's so much more going on. It's one of the first responsibilities I dole out. If you're young-ish, it's a great way to ask your mom to help haha. Also a great way to plug in that friend/family/loved one that really wants to help on set but can't in any technical capacity. Give them a budget and ask them to be creative. We fed 15-35 people 3 quality meals a day plus water, coffee and snacks for like $250. Not sure how, but I asked one of my really good friends who loves cooking to plan it for that much and she pulled through great.
Spaghetti is cheap if someone can cook it! Little Caesar $5 pizzas are cheap if you have someone to get them.
Honestly, when directing or producing food is the last thing I want to think about, there's so much more going on. It's one of the first responsibilities I dole out. If you're young-ish, it's a great way to ask your mom to help haha. Also a great way to plug in that friend/family/loved one that really wants to help on set but can't in any technical capacity. Give them a budget and ask them to be creative. We fed 15-35 people 3 quality meals a day plus water, coffee and snacks for like $250. Not sure how, but I asked one of my really good friends who loves cooking to plan it for that much and she pulled through great.
On a multi day shoot I stick them with cheap "Hot and Readys" maybe once. I am lucky in that my girlfriend usually does the catering in addition to producing, we just have to get a PA to set it up.
"Craft Services" Chips, candy, trail mix, etc... out all the time.
"Craft Services" Chips, candy, trail mix, etc... out all the time.
Yep. Somehow every set does seem to have twizzlers around. Idk, maybe it's just really cheap?
For my last short I had my mom do the catering/craft services as a donation to the film. I recommend going that route, plus if your mom is a good cook, your cast will love you.
So, you want to have stuff for folks to drink/munch out at all times: water, pop, coffee, candy, fruit, veggies, chips, that kind of stuff (although, I learned the hard way, if you're working with kids, make sure someone is watching them or they will make themselves sick on sweets)
Depending on how long your days are, you're going to want 1-3 hot break-time meals a day(you could probably get away with cold-cuts for sandwiches for lunch one day). Just a few ideas: have someone run to the grocery store and get some hot fried chicken; boil up some hot dogs; like other people have said, pasta is good, cheap and easy; Jewel has really tasty take-and-bake pizzas, I think they're 16" for 6 or 8 bucks each. If you're starting really early in the morning you can do a hot breakfast like an egg bake which can feed a lot of people for cheap. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Hash-Brown-Egg-Bake
For my last short I had my mom do the catering/craft services as a donation to the film. I recommend going that route, plus if your mom is a good cook, your cast will love you.
So, you want to have stuff for folks to drink/munch out at all times: water, pop, coffee, candy, fruit, veggies, chips, that kind of stuff (although, I learned the hard way, if you're working with kids, make sure someone is watching them or they will make themselves sick on sweets)
Depending on how long your days are, you're going to want 1-3 hot break-time meals a day(you could probably get away with cold-cuts for sandwiches for lunch one day). Just a few ideas: have someone run to the grocery store and get some hot fried chicken; boil up some hot dogs; like other people have said, pasta is good, cheap and easy; Jewel has really tasty take-and-bake pizzas, I think they're 16" for 6 or 8 bucks each. If you're starting really early in the morning you can do a hot breakfast like an egg bake which can feed a lot of people for cheap. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Hash-Brown-Egg-Bake
Constantly available tea and coffee and maybe muffins or cakes (or crumpets, here in England).
For meals, keep it simple and quick. You don't really want people sitting down and taking ages. Sandwiches, paninis, cold buffet... I don't know.
Just remember the '3 Cs': Cheap, Cheerful and Loads of Tea.
For meals, keep it simple and quick. You don't really want people sitting down and taking ages. Sandwiches, paninis, cold buffet... I don't know.
Just remember the '3 Cs': Cheap, Cheerful and Loads of Tea.
Three words…
Get a coffeemaker!!! I learned the hard way your cast and crew will be begging for Starbucks/Tea Leaf/Peets if you don't and that will add up. 8-)
Get a coffeemaker!!! I learned the hard way your cast and crew will be begging for Starbucks/Tea Leaf/Peets if you don't and that will add up. 8-)
Actually hearing you use "Tea and crumpets" in a sentence pretty much made my day.
You do need to feed them.
Coffee and Tea go big.
Some cast and crew people are into health foods. It pays to ask ahead of time.
We barbacued on location in a public park last year. Of course there were some who didn't like the barbacue. But, most people did. If you have a Price Choppers or a Price Club, you can save money feeding a big crowd. One actor in my group with an SUV stopped by a Price Club on the way over in the morning to pickup the food.
When we went to the greenscreen studio, we used a very good caterer.
For rehearsals, we used catering everyday.
Coffee and Tea go big.
Some cast and crew people are into health foods. It pays to ask ahead of time.
We barbacued on location in a public park last year. Of course there were some who didn't like the barbacue. But, most people did. If you have a Price Choppers or a Price Club, you can save money feeding a big crowd. One actor in my group with an SUV stopped by a Price Club on the way over in the morning to pickup the food.
When we went to the greenscreen studio, we used a very good caterer.
For rehearsals, we used catering everyday.
as mentioned above, this is where places like Costo, Sam's Club and other bulk warehouse-y stores come in handy. Real easy to walk through the aisles and find stuff to feed a few dozen people, as well as items that are individually packaged so you won't be too stressed about things going bad or getting stale.
Box of granola bars, nuts, juices, reg + diet soda, water, fruit, candy (chocolate!), pretzels, etc. Also bulk items like cold cuts, rolls, meats, veggies, muffins, etc.
If you know anyone with a membership see if they can hook you up.
ditto on above: coffee coffee coffee + tea. otherwise you'll have a mutiny on you hands!
Box of granola bars, nuts, juices, reg + diet soda, water, fruit, candy (chocolate!), pretzels, etc. Also bulk items like cold cuts, rolls, meats, veggies, muffins, etc.
If you know anyone with a membership see if they can hook you up.
ditto on above: coffee coffee coffee + tea. otherwise you'll have a mutiny on you hands!
Sams Club and Costco are a massive help for feeding cast/crew on any budget. I highly recommend getting a membership to at least one of them. You're feeding in bulk, so why not buy in bulk?
Also, as I have learned from my wife who is a massive coupon fiend, you can save an incredible amount of money if you (or whomever) does the research and finds/clips coupons. I even had a friend just the other day go to Target and using coupons alone, not only got $80 worth of food for FREE but she also managed to have them have to pay her $3!! So she basically got reimbursed for her gas to the store! Crazy but extreme couponing works. Now if only we could do that for our gear...
Also, as I have learned from my wife who is a massive coupon fiend, you can save an incredible amount of money if you (or whomever) does the research and finds/clips coupons. I even had a friend just the other day go to Target and using coupons alone, not only got $80 worth of food for FREE but she also managed to have them have to pay her $3!! So she basically got reimbursed for her gas to the store! Crazy but extreme couponing works. Now if only we could do that for our gear...
Twizzlers? Haha. Alright then!
My dad has a Sam's club membership so that shouldn't be a problem. He's also very cheap. So extreme couponing isn't very new for him. lol.
Thanks for sharing people!
My dad has a Sam's club membership so that shouldn't be a problem. He's also very cheap. So extreme couponing isn't very new for him. lol.
Thanks for sharing people!
Jewel has really good chickens too (the one that comes in buckets)!
Oh and don't forget about ALDI. I wouldn't buy meat or produce there, but it's great for super cheap snacks like chips, granola bars, nuts, candy. All that kind of stuff. I've filled up a cart with junk food and spent less than 30 bucks there.
Are you asking about an extended shoot - say 12 to 18 days?I'm curious on what do you guys feed your cast in crew on a small budget? I can't really offer them a full catering service but I'll definitely anything I can to keep them full and less cranky...
Or are you asking about a weekend shoot?
Personally, all-day shoots are a trial in themselves, so limit the amount of hours on set. Food becomes of little concern when your actors are only dedicating 2-3 hours of their day to the project, they can get food before or after.
Thus, I'd offer healthy snacks, such as 5 bowls of nuts (different types), bowl of bananas and apples.
Then for drinks you can make ice tea and/or have a big coffee ready. Honestly go get a box of coffee from a general chain, Tim Horton's in Canada.
Thus, I'd offer healthy snacks, such as 5 bowls of nuts (different types), bowl of bananas and apples.
Then for drinks you can make ice tea and/or have a big coffee ready. Honestly go get a box of coffee from a general chain, Tim Horton's in Canada.
Man my crew would love you. A "normal" day on set for me is 10 to 12 hours. We've gone as long as 16 or 18 hours in situations where we had a location we were going to lose. Hell anything less than 8 hours I consider a "half day".