It’s not always easy for your workers to find nourishing, healthy food during their lunch breaks. After all, they have to fight against the clock, traffic, and long lines just to grab something from the closest fast food place. This often means quickly downing a greasy, fatty, carb-packed value meal that will leave them sluggish as the afternoon wears on. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

What if fresh, delicious, and energizing afternoon meals were packed neatly in a box and delivered right to their desks? Could a boxed lunch program be the lunchtime solution your time-crunched employees?

Boxed lunch programs are becoming increasingly popular with businesses who understand the value of well-nourished workers. In an era where the legacy cafeteria model just doesn’t make sense, boxed lunches provide a cost-effective, fully catered alternative to feeding the entire company. Let’s take a look at five of the biggest benefits of a boxed lunch program.

1. It’s a surprisingly persuasive perk

It’s almost impossible to overstate just how big of headache lunchtime logistics can be for your employees. Simply knowing that they have the option of ordering a boxed lunch can take a huge amount of stress out of their workday. If the company subsidizes these meals — partially or fully — it can have a dramatic positive impact on overall job satisfaction. These hassle-free food programs can also make it much easier to attract the best talent.

2. There’s a real boost to afternoon productivity

By providing a boxed lunch program for your workers, you’re doing more than taking the stress out of their lunch breaks. You’re giving them access to higher-quality food, which translates into more energy for accomplishing tasks, hitting deadlines, and getting through those drowsiness-inducing afternoon meetings.

3. It’s hard to beat an endless variety of authentic, flavorful meals

Chances are that your employees are already in a lunchtime rut. There are only so many restaurants within a short drive of the office, and it doesn’t take long to completely exhaust the available menu options. Boxed lunches, on the other hand, can be ordered from restaurants and caterers anywhere in town. Tired of the same old sandwiches? Why not try Thai or Tex-Mex for a week? You can even take a poll to let the employees decide where to order from next.

4. Boxed meals bring people together

There’s something almost magical about the power of a shared meal. Instead of rushing to their cars during lunch, your employees have a reason to stick around. This encourages them to get to know each other a little better, meet people from other teams and departments, and take a breather from shared workplace pressures. It creates a real sense of being in a team, rather than just working for the same company.

5. It’s a genuinely cost-effective solution

On-site cafeterias are painfully expensive ways to feed workers, and those costs are only going up. While there are some truly innovative options out there — pop-up restaurants, for example — not every workplace is a good fit for them. The beauty of a boxed lunch program is that it can work anywhere, and for any budget. A company that struggles to afford a legacy cafeteria might actually save money with a boxed lunch program, even if they picked up the tab for every single meal. Even companies with tight budgets can often see huge benefits from offering partially subsidized boxed lunch programs, resulting in tangible ROI in terms of productivity alone.

In terms of flexibility, variety, price, and employee satisfaction, boxed lunch programs may just be the smartest solution for feeding your workers. They get less-stressful lunch breaks, and you get happier, more motivated workers. That’s a great combination.