Building a budget? Get a working range in about thirty seconds. Per-person rates drop as crew size and shoot length go up — and if you’re shooting in Georgia, we’ll show what it costs after the film tax credit.
Your project
Rough numbers are fine. Everything updates live.
Appears on your saved link, PDF, and emailed copy.
50
15150300+
Count everyone who eats — crew, cast, background, agency, and client.
5
13060+
Total service days, not calendar days. Longer runs earn better rates.
Union agreements require a “reasonable selection” and explicitly state that snack food
— hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza — does not constitute a proper meal. Where a meal is
judged inadequate, the meal period has to start an hour earlier, which means penalties start
an hour earlier too.
See the full sample menus →
Georgia film tax credit
Craft service and catering are qualified Georgia production expenditures.
Georgia offers a 20% transferable credit on qualified in-state spend, plus a 10% uplift for approved promotional value. Credits typically sell for 88–95¢ on the dollar, so we apply 91¢ when calculating recovered value. Not tax advice — confirm with your production accountant.
Logistics
These affect staffing, travel, and equipment.
Delivery anywhere in metro Atlanta is already included. A surcharge applies beyond metro, and statewide covers coastal, mountain, and anywhere needing overnight crew stays.
What the 18% service charge covers
Applied to food, beverage and labor. It covers the parts of a job that never show up as a line item: pre-production coordination and menu planning, changes to your order, insurance, admin and accounting time, vehicle fuel and maintenance, replacing serving equipment as it wears out, and breakage during service. Eighteen to twenty-two percent is standard across the catering industry.
Chafing, cambros, coolers, tables, standard disposables and local delivery are already in the per-person price — you won’t see a separate kit or delivery charge on top for a metro Atlanta job. Only genuinely additional costs get their own line: distance beyond metro, a mobile kitchen or food truck build, or a compostable-disposables upgrade.
It is not a gratuity. None of it is a tip. If your crew wants to take care of the service staff, that’s separate and entirely up to you.
Why this is a range, not a price
Menu complexity, protein choices, dietary mix, load-in access, parking, and how many separate service points you need all move the final number. This gets you close enough to budget against — then we quote the real thing, usually within one business day.
How do the volume discounts work?
Two things drive the per-person rate down: crew size and shoot length. A larger crew spreads fixed costs — staffing, travel, equipment, setup — across more people. A longer run lets us buy ahead, plan menus in cycles, and hold a crew rather than rebuilding for each job. At the far end, roughly 100+ people over 30+ days, breakfast can reach about $5 per person and lunch about $8. A 20-person single day will not see anything close to that, and any caterer quoting those numbers for a one-off is not being straight with you.
Does catering really qualify for the Georgia tax credit?
Yes. Craft service and catering are qualified Georgia production expenditures, alongside set construction, equipment rental, location fees, wardrobe, and lodging. The credit is 20% of qualified in-state spend, with a 10% uplift available for approved promotional value, and it’s transferable rather than refundable — most productions sell it. Keep clean vendor documentation for the audit. There’s more detail, including a full credit calculator, in our interactive Georgia production guide. This is not tax advice; confirm treatment with your production accountant.
What is included in the estimate?
Food, service, setup and breakdown, disposables and serving equipment, waste removal, and travel. Dietary options — vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, halal, allergen-conscious — are standard on every menu at no extra charge, so they’re already in the number.
What is the 18% service charge?
It’s applied to food, beverage and labor, and it covers the operating side of a job: coordination and menu planning before the shoot, changes to your order, insurance, administrative and accounting time, vehicle fuel and maintenance, replacing serving equipment, and breakage during service. Eighteen to twenty-two percent is the industry standard nationally. It is not a gratuity — none of it is a tip, and anything you want to give the service staff is separate and entirely optional.
How are travel and equipment charged?
Standard equipment — chafing, cambros, coolers, tables, serving gear and disposables — is built into the per-person price, along with delivery anywhere in metro Atlanta. There’s no separate kit fee or local delivery charge. Beyond metro, a distance surcharge applies per service day, and statewide work that needs overnight crew stays carries a higher one. Mobile kitchens, food trailers and food trucks are separate day rates because they’re substantial builds rather than standard kit. Compostable disposables are an optional upgrade.
What is not included?
Sales tax, gratuity, alcohol, parking or permit fees charged by your location, rentals we’d sub out such as tents or specialty furniture, and overtime beyond your scheduled service window. Anything unusual gets called out in the written quote rather than buried.
Can you work around union meal windows?
Yes. Under IATSE agreements lunch is generally due within six hours of general crew call, and a second meal six hours after the first meal period ends. The clock runs on “last person through the line,” not first — so how fast we serve is part of whether you stay compliant. On a large crew a blown break costs more in meal penalties than the catering line itself, which is a good reason not to shop this on price alone.
What’s actually on the menu?
Every hot meal includes two proteins plus a dedicated plant-based entrée, a starch and a hot vegetable, a salad bar with dressings, bread with a gluten-free starch alternative, dessert, and coffee, tea, lemonade and water. Every item is labeled for allergens and dietary requirements. You can browse our full sample production menus — fourteen rotating lunch and dinner themes, four breakfast formats, boxed lunches, and set snacks.
Does a hot meal have to meet a standard?
Yes, and it matters financially. Union agreements require a “reasonable selection” and state plainly that snack food — hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza — does not constitute a proper meal. Where catering is judged inadequate, the meal period must begin by the end of the fifth hour rather than the sixth, so penalties start an hour sooner. Cheap catering can cost more than good catering.
How fast can you turn a real quote around?
Usually within one business day. Working against a bid deadline? Call (404) 492-1687 and we’ll move faster.
Estimate only, not a quote or an offer. Actual pricing depends on menu, access, schedule, and dietary requirements. Includes an 18% service charge on food, beverage and labor, which is not a gratuity. Excludes sales tax, gratuity and alcohol. Tax credit figures are illustrative and not tax advice.
