Plan food and beverage quantities for a fundraising gala from expected attendance, catering coverage, portions per guest, tray yield, and a contingency allowance. The calculator converts the forecast into whole servings and purchase-ready tray or batch counts while keeping food and beverage assumptions visible.
Food servings = ceil(expected guests × coverage × servings per guest × (1 + buffer))
Trays = ceil(food servings ÷ servings per tray). Beverage servings use the same catered-guest count and buffer.
The main result is the total food portion count after contingency. Whole-tray rounding can create a little more inventory than the serving total.
Catering note: adjust for menu composition, dietary needs, service duration, alcohol rules, and the caterer’s actual portion yields.
For 500 expected guests at 90% coverage, 1.15 servings each, an 8% buffer, and 20 servings per tray: 450 guests are catered, 518 base servings become 559 food servings, requiring 28 trays. At 2.5 drinks each, plan 1,215 beverage servings.
Use expected attendance, then apply a realistic contingency buffer rather than ordering for every invitation automatically.
Lower the catering coverage percentage for excluded ticket classes, staff, or attendees with separate arrangements.
Trays are rounded up to whole purchasable batches, so the final order can contain extra servings.
Yes. Beverage servings use catered guests, beverages per guest, and the entered buffer.
Not directly. Apply your dietary percentages to the catered-guest total and confirm separate preparation with the caterer.
| Variable | How it changes the order |
|---|---|
| Coverage | Sets how many attendees receive catering |
| Servings per guest | Reflects meal or snack intensity |
| Buffer | Adds contingency inventory |
| Tray yield | Rounds the order into purchasable batches |