Business Opportunities Weblog

July 17, 2008 by Rich Whittle | 3 Comments

The Wall Street Journal:

A few months ago Jessie Snider, 23, began to feel the pinch of the rising cost of gasoline, food and, well, everything. Then she realized the $75 to $80 she was spending each week on lunch was really cutting into her paycheck. So in March she traded sit-down lunches of elaborate caprese salads and angel-hair pasta for brown-bag lunches of leftover stir-fry and turkey sandwiches.

“Lunch was the first thing I cut back on,” says Ms. Snider, who works as an assistant account executive for a public-relations firm in Atlanta.

Make room for another victim of the weak economy: lunch.

Ms. Snider is part of a growing tide of midday restaurant regulars who are changing their habits to save cash. Instead of indulging in a roasted portobello sandwich and gourmet chips at a nearby bistro, many workers are now brown-bagging it. In fact, online bag retailer eBags.com saw sales of lunch bags and coolers increase 39% in June over the year before. Other workers are turning to cheaper alternatives — like subsidized or free corporate cafeterias and cheaper fast-food spots.

Though he occasionally misses getting out of the office and socializing with co-workers during lunch, Marc Haskell says eating at his desk has made him more productive. “Instead of going out for an hour, walking to the place and waiting on line, I can basically eat in 10 to 15 minutes and catch up on some news.”

Photo by Patrick Conlory.

In Economy, Employees, Food | 3 Comments