Figuring How Much Food to Buy for Parties

It will soon be time for graduation parties, family reunions, etc., and it can be difficult to know how much food to fix for a large crowd. Here are several serving guides I have come to rely on:

• Cold cuts: generally 2 to 3 ounces of deli meat per serving (25 servings of deli meat would be 3 to 5 pounds of meat). This is based on what is called a "sandwich slice" rather than shaved. Sandwich slices will go further than shaved as people often overload on shaved.
• Cheese: allow 1 to 1.5 ounces of cheese slices per serving. (25 servings would be 1.5 to 2.5 pounds of cheese). Sliced cheese is more economical than cubes as people will generally only take one slice of cheese, but several cubes of cheese.
• Vegetables: Plan on 4 to 6 pieces of raw vegetables per person in a relish tray. (How much dip to have is anyone's guess!)
• Salad: One gallon of potato or pasta salad or chicken or tuna salad will feed approximately 25 people. Don't bother counting the kids in this because most of them won't eat this type of food.
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• Fruit: Plan on allowing 1/2 cup per serving of fruit per person. Generally, 1 pint of strawberries, blueberries or raspberries equals about 2 cups; 1 pound of green grapes equals 2 cups.

By Ronsan from Southwest MO