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Tampa Bay Food Trucks

Top 8 Ways To Show Your Employees You Appreciate Them

Looking for some inspiration on how to best recognize your employees' hard work? Ask yourself one question: what's the best way to warm their hearts?

By filling their stomachs of course! Employee appreciation parties and events are a great way to increase morale by reducing stress, giving everyone a chance to get to know each other outside of the traditional context, and fostering a happier company culture and sense of community. Whether you are looking to hold an event on site or at a different location, corporate events are a surefire way to boost employee morale and spirit. As you plan your next event think about some of the following themed parties:

  1. Host a food tasting What's the best way to expose your employees to new food they haven't tried before? A food tasting! Eliminate order envy by allowing everyone to sample a variety of offerings, instead of settling on a singular meal. Food trucks have the ability to serve a selection of appetizers/small plates or half meals, with a specific amount budgeted out per person. This gives your employees the option of trying multiple menu items without breaking the bank. Food tastings can be themed, for example a tasting of world cuisines, or maybe even just one cuisine with different types of food ranging from small savory bites to desserts from a particular region.

  2. Sports watch party (football, baseball, soccer) Invite your employees to bring their favorite jerseys for a sports themed night. Events may be planned to take place the same date or time as a local football or baseball game, or just as a "spirit day." Research some trivia and post it around the office while you have food trucks outside to cook up some game day grub. Popular food truck cuisines for sports events include fries, hamburgers, grilled cheese, cheesesteaks, hot dogs, and more! Another optional add-on is to set up ice buckets for beer or hire bar service. Tampa Bay Food Trucks can provide this service!

  3. Throw a desserts-only bash Donuts, ice cream, milkshakes, churros, Italian ice, cheesecake on a stick, cupcakes, and the list goes on. Whether you choose to display a wall of donuts (one of our clients used powdered and regular donuts on a peg wall to make a "50" to celebrate 50 years of business), order directly from the trucks, or set up a buffet of different delicacies, you can't go wrong with dessert. Food trucks bring a unique experience and desserts are freshly prepared on the spot. Bringing in local street food is a sweet surprise, and ups the ante from a traditional potluck.

  4. Throw down Oktoberfest style Pair this fest with food trucks who can produce German food such as kielbasa. Think cuisine such as bratwurst, pretzels, sauerkraut, french fries, brisket, and/or meatballs. You can create your own beer garden (biergarten!) on site, or take a field trip to a local brewery. We have partnerships with several local breweries, and can arrange to have the food truck meet you on site. If you're looking to avoid alcohol, serve root beer or craft sodas instead with custom labels to enjoy with your meal.

  5. Take a trip to the diner with retro milkshakes and burgers Find some poodle skirts and leather jackets at the thrift store - because we're heading back in time to the 50's! Serve Coca Cola in glass bottles, and set up an area with a projector to play an old movie, drive-in style. Really get your employees in the retro mindset by playing intermission snack bar commercials so they have time to refill their drinks and grab some additional food. You can even step up your party's game with a DJ (or mobile DJ Truck) and a dance floor (which you can find at many rental businesses for rent including). Really want to invest in this theme? Hire some guys and girls to serve on roller skates!

  6. Have an 80's themed party Ask your employees to dress up in their craziest outfits for this day. Hand out fingerless mesh gloves, and have a bucket of glow sticks at the ready. This is another great party to set up a photo booth area with props such as PacMen, logos (MTV, ATARI), and Rubik's cube images on sticks for people to hold up. Utilize bright neon balloons, VHS tapes and cassettes from the thrift store, party lighting, and slinkies to hang from the ceiling as decorations. This is another event where the mobile DJ truck comes in handy - prepare with a list of your favorite 80's hits. Seek out some vintage games like PacMan and Space Invaders for entertainment for those who are a bit shy about busting out dance moves.

  7. Breakfast for dinner Breakfast food is too tasty to be limited to mornings only! Switch up a traditional catering with donuts, crepes, waffles, yogurt parfaits, chocolate covered strawberries, and/or mini quiches. These events are best held in open air, or in an area with abundant natural lighting. Service options can include ordering and serving directly from a food truck, having employees grab their food in a buffet line, or having butler service.

  8. Chuckwagon Hoedown Grab some bandanas, and tell your employees to bring their cowboy boots because we're having a hoedown! Get a BBQ and/or a burger truck (a "chuckwagon!") to serve your crew. Menu options can include baked beans, macaroni and cheese, fries, burgers, hot dogs, green beans, corn bread, pound cake, lemonade, corn on the cob, potato salad, coleslaw, the list goes on! For dessert, serve up some pies, and chocolate chip cookies to complement the country-style spread. For venues, consider parks, campgrounds, or local farmland as a nice backdrop and change of scenery. Check out YouTube for some line dancing tutorials or hire someone to teach your employees to dance along to the music!

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