Over Half of US Workers Regularly Skip Lunch as Food Costs and Job Pressure Rise, Per CNBC
More than half of workers are skipping lunch
More than half of US workers now skip lunch at least once a week, and most say hunger is hurting their job performance.
54% of US-based, full-time employees missed out on work lunch at least once a week in 2026, per CNBC, citing ezCater's Lunch Report.
The survey covered 1,000 US-based workers, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%, per CNBC.
The share has risen for four straight years. In 2023, the first year of the period cited by CNBC, 48% of workers reported skipping one meal at work per week, according to Robert Kaskel, vice president of people at ezCater, speaking to CNBC Make It.
Food costs are changing the lunch break
Cost is a central reason workers are cutting back, not just skipping.
81% of workers say inflation and higher prices have impacted their lunch habits, per the ezCater report.
42% are buying lunch out less often, and 40% are choosing cheaper options, per ezCater.
Employees now spend an average of $100 per week on work lunches, per ezCater, even as many buy less often.
21% are seeking employer-provided food, a 38% increase from 2025, per ezCater.
Pressure to stay available is the other driver
Workload pressure is keeping workers at their desks even when they want a break.
31% of workers say they feel pressure to be available during lunch hours, and the same share say company culture makes it challenging to take lunch, per ezCater.
80% of workers agree a lunch break away from the desk can improve job performance, per ezCater, yet the majority still skip it at least once a week.
Gen Z and millennial workers are more than twice as likely as older coworkers to feel pressured by management to skip lunch, per reporting on the survey.
Skipping lunch comes with a performance cost
84% of employees say hunger hurts their job performance, per ezCater.
49% say they are less focused, 40% say they are more likely to make mistakes, and 38% say they are slower to complete tasks, per ezCater.
Nearly 7 in 10 employees say free lunch would bring them on-site more often, per ezCater, a point employers are using as offices push for more in-person attendance.
35% of workers say they would choose a protected daily lunch break over extra paid time off, per reporting on the report.
How this could hit the options market
Skipped and cheaper lunches are a direct read on the midday consumer. If workers are buying out less often and trading down when they do, that pressure shows up first in fast food, coffee, and fast-casual traffic.
Stocks to watch include MCD, SBUX, CMG, and YUM.
Delivery and workplace food names are the other side of the trade. If more workers seek employer-provided food instead of buying their own, watch DASH for any shift in daytime order flow.
Traders should watch options flow in restaurant names around earnings and monthly sales updates. Continued trading down by workers would support a cautious view on discretionary lunch spending, even if headline employment stays firm.