FWIW: Each store manager has a lot of latitude in what their store will serve. They're given a budget, and it varies depending on that particular store's gross sales, socioeconomic environment (economic "class" of the neighborhood, if you will), the store's performance relative to their quotas and goals, and probably the whim of the regional manager.
Within that budget, the store manager has to decide which products to serve, taking into account their profit margin and potential for advertising (showcasing the frozen Jimmy Dean sandwiches, or enticing people into buying a pallet of fresh-baked muffins, for example). The goal is to start running out of food items one hour into the event, and have served 3/4 of the budgeted products one hour before the event ends. If a bunch of people show up during the last 10 minutes, muffins, coffee, water, and prepackaged Danish rolls (the cheapest, and easiest items to write off) will still be available, but the serving tables will be nearly torn down by then.
Incidentally, the large bakery muffins cost the store about 19 cents each, and coffee should run them less than 5 cents per 12-ounce cup. The Jimmy Dean sandwiches wholesale for about 70 cents, bottled OJ runs about 40 cents, bottled water costs about 15 cents, and single-serving containers of yogurt are about 25 cents.
I don't mean to begrudge
WalMart for their generosity; I actually appreciate it. I'm only trying to point out the economics of the event. It's pretty easy to see how short a $200 budget could go, and how long one could make $500 last, especially if they're looking to serve 1,000 people.
(I wasn't expecting a great spread.)
