How to Calculate Food Amounts for a Party

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By Shreya Mehta
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (1 Ratings)

Are you uncertain about how much food to make or order for your party? You want to make sure you order enough food so that each guest gets enough, but you don't want to have a lot of leftover food after the party that will go to waste. Learn how to calculate how much food you will need for a party.

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Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Determine how many guests will be attending the party. For relatively large parties, insert RSVP cards in your invitations, with sufficient postage, so that your guests can send them back to you with the number of guests attending per family. For smaller parties, call the guest to confirm how many people will be attending.
Step 2

Decide on the menu. Plan how many different types of appetizers, desserts, and drinks will be served. Also, decide on what the main dish will be.
Step 3

Go to the link in the Resources section. This website provides information on how to calculate food portions per guest based on the type of food---hors d'oeuvres, beverages, full meals and desserts. It also provides sample amounts for 12 guests and 24 guests.