Help me plan refreshments please!

[Supersoakers]

We have a council training morning coming up and have been asked to sort the tea coffee and light refreshments. We’re bringing our own lunch.
we have use of a boiling water tap.
Expecting about 40 people- with 2 nut allergies and a few vegans.

Ive got a click and collect slot to collect on the way. I’ve realised I’m not sure how much milk etc and what to get in the way of food.
So far I’ve put in:
semi skimmed milk 4pt
oat milk one carton
teabags 80
nescafe instant
sugar
sweeteners
biscuits- bourbon, fruit shortcake, oaties and ginger nuts.
I also put in 5 packs of 5 different mini pastries.

If anyone has done this before I’d appreciate an idea of amounts!

Also should I get cold drinks? Are the Tesco biscuits not fancy enough?

budget level- council

thanks in advance!

Can you organise who goes to the refreshment table first?

If you can't but twice as much as you think you will need, coz if the men get there first there will be fuck all left from experience

Ha ha it’s almost all women but we are education staff so partial to a biscuit!
I think fruit is good and was thinking napkins too.

Have you got decaff? Personally, if it's breakfast time, I'd go with biscuits and fruit as refreshments

No I’ll put it on

Iceland do packets of biscuits sealed. Might be good for leftovers.

Don't do this ^
You'd have to then also get plates and knives, and somewhere to stand whilst you do all the cutting and buttering etc.

Seriously, just put coffee and tea out on arrival (incl de-caff) with milk, sugar, and also some water.

Then at mid morning break, bung a load of biscuits out to go with.
Or, as you somehow seem to have wangled a budget (How? we've had to take in our own coffee to meetings since about 2016 / 17), then get some of those bite sized little cakes all the supermarkets do - flapjack . millionaire shortbread / etc, 20 in a little box for a couple of ££.

Well I work in the public sector, and this is what we always do, but what would I know!!!

An early meeting means people may not have eaten beforehand, so I would go for fewer biscuits and ultra-sweet stuff and some more substantial things. Definitely some fruit, things that can be peeled easily or ready-prepared. I think pastries are a good idea if you can get plates. Some fruit juice. Maybe something more savoury than sweet? Not full on sandwiches or sausage rolls, but maybe some cheese twists or something like that? You will definitely get more for your money if you shop at a less expensive supermarket.
And don't forget sweetener as well as sugar, plus what about decaff? I can't have caffeine for medical reasons, and I'm diabetic, so I would be very disappointed (and hungry) if there were lots of lovely sweet things and no decaffeinated coffee. I wouldn't be able to eat anything or have coffee. I am kind of used to that now though.

25 pastries for 40 people sounds a bit stingy. I'd increase the number of tea bags too and get nicer coffee than nescafe. I don't take milk but 1 bottle doesn't sound much. Could you measure out how much you use in a cup of tea at home and multiply it up?
I wouldn't bother with fruit teas, if people only drink it they tend to carry their own.

Definitely add in fruit. Lots of people don’t eat biscuits and pastries or want a healthier option. Bananas, easy peelers, apples or grapes are all easy options.

Fruit definitely. I don’t have a sweet tooth, and a lot of people are trying to reduce sugar and heavily processed food. Do people really want biscuits for breakfast?!

Ok, will try and do all this and get more milk!

Maybe a box of 20 peppermint tea bags (or whatever the smallest box is) - that seems the most popular fruit or herbal in my experience

Couple of bags of oranges, apples and bunches of bananas

This would be way OTT! If people haven't had breakfast they can get their own food.
OP all you need to supply is drinks and a few biscuits. That's it. Especially if you need to justify your spending.

My organisation has been doing this for 30-40+ years. We cover a wide area so people will have travelled from very early morning to get there. Providing tables to butter scones is not a big ask!!

It's always worked well!

This is becoming bigger than Texas. It's only morning tea.
I'd do grapes, one variety of plain biscuits, one of choc biscuits, some crackers, some cheddar or brie (or similarly bland) and maybe some hummus or pate.
Ensure there's something to suit all food preferences.
In my experience people are more likely to go for savory over sweet.

It happened. I bought biscuits and fruit and the drinks. Loads left over but distributed to the teams. Fruit was a good shout. Someone brought an absolute show stopper of a cake which blew anything else that could have come from Tesco out of the water!