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Comment by marcusf | Hacker News Reader

I think it's a very positive thing that people invest this much time in nurturing staff; That said, there seems to be some companies whose sole purpose is to convert VC money in to full stomaches? I'm not knocking on Ridejoy specifically (I thought the whole community manager shebang a while back was very entertaining, and I like their idea) but there's a lot of posts on company eating on HN. Hackers and Gourmands?

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Thanks! I wouldn't worry about our investors, the food is 2-3% of our total burn. Everyone loves food (see Pinterest) and it's a fun and occasionally enlightening way to find out more about a startup from the outside.

(note: if you haven't seen the community manager shebang, it's at http://blog.ridejoy.com/how-to-woo-a-startup-the-best-resume...)

No not really. It's more cash efficient for a company to pay for their employee's meals in bulk than it is to pay them that ~$10k in after tax income (So around $13-15k per person). The company also gains 'free labor' by saving the employee's time from walking out of the office, and saving the employee time in food prep time at home. Many employee's are going to eat out almost every day when they're at the office.

I'm trying to get something like this going in my office. It seems funny to me that so many days we're all busy chowing down in front of our keyboards while we read HN. I think a day a week to get together and enjoy everyone's company in a more relaxed setting is a good idea.

It may be good for the 20something not married no kids kind of guy, but for me, 30something married, kids - I'd rather not eat dinner at the office. My wife is an excellent cook, and personally, I'd rather go home and be with my wife and kids than to sit around eating with my coworkers.

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