PG Food Menu: A Weekly Mess Menu Template and How to Work Out Food Cost Per Tenant

Short answer: plan a 7-day rotating menu with three meals, keep it simple enough for one cook to make on time, publish it where tenants can see it, and set food charges from your real cost per tenant (groceries + cook + gas + waste), not from what the PG next door charges. Food is the number one source of complaints in most PGs, and a fixed, visible menu removes most of them.

This guide gives you a copy-ready weekly menu, a way to work out what food actually costs you per tenant, and the rules that keep the mess running smoothly.

How common is food in PGs?

Of the 716 PGs listed publicly on My PG Manager in October 2026, 433 (60%) include food. The median starting rent of PGs that include food is ₹6,500 a month, against ₹5,000 for PGs that don't. That gap compares different PGs in different cities, so it is not the price of food, but it shows that most tenants expect food to be part of the deal, and that PGs with food tend to charge more.

A weekly PG food menu you can copy

This is a vegetarian menu that works across most of India. Swap dishes for your region (idli and sambar in the south, poha and paratha in the west and north), but keep the pattern: one heavier day, one lighter day, and no dish twice in the same week.

Tips that make the menu work:

• One special meal a week (usually Sunday lunch) does more for tenant happiness than small daily upgrades.
• Keep breakfast fast. Working tenants leave between 8 and 9:30 AM; anything that takes more than 10 minutes to serve becomes a complaint.
• Non-veg on fixed days only, cooked separately, and say so in the menu. Many PGs, especially ladies' PGs, run fully vegetarian; that is a selling point, not a gap.
• Repeat the menu every week. A fixed rotation is easier to shop for, easier for the cook, and tenants stop asking "what's for dinner?".

Meal timings and rules

Write these into your PG rules and put them up near the dining area:

• Timings: for example breakfast 7:30–9:30 AM, lunch 12:30–2:30 PM, dinner 8:00–10:00 PM. Kitchens that never close cost you gas and staff time.
• Tiffin/packed lunch: say whether you offer it and by when tenants must ask (for example, the night before).
• Missed meals: say clearly that food charges are monthly and there is no refund for skipped meals, except for absences you agree in advance (for example, 7+ days away).
• Guests: a fixed charge per guest meal, informed before the meal.
• Food in rooms: whether plates may leave the dining area (they usually come back late, or not at all).
• Feedback: one channel for complaints about food (a register, a WhatsApp group, or the app), and a promise to respond within a day.

How to work out your food cost per tenant

Most owners set food charges by copying the PG down the road. Work out your own cost first: it decides whether food makes you money or quietly eats your margin.

Monthly food cost = groceries + milk + cook and helper salaries + gas + other (water cans, cleaning, disposables) + waste. Divide by the number of tenants who eat.

An illustrative example for a 20-tenant vegetarian PG. Replace every number with your own local prices:

Two things to notice in this example. First, staff and gas are about a third of the cost and don't fall when two or three tenants leave, so food costs per tenant rise when occupancy drops. Second, if you bundle food into rent, the rent has to cover this number, or every tenant who eats is costing you money. You can test both effects with the PG profit calculator.

Food included in rent, or charged separately?

• Included in rent is simpler to sell ("₹7,500 with food") and to collect. It is the norm for students and for ladies' PGs.
• Charged separately works better for working professionals who eat out or travel. It also makes your rent look lower on listing sites, and lets you change food charges without renegotiating rent.
• Breakfast + dinner only is a common middle option in cities where tenants eat lunch at the office canteen. It cuts your food cost by roughly a third.

Whatever you choose, state it in the agreement and on every receipt, so food and rent are never confused when someone leaves or disputes a bill.

Kitchen hygiene and safety

• Drinking water: RO or sealed cans, with the RO filter serviced on schedule. Waterborne illness empties a PG faster than anything else.
• Storage: dry staples in closed containers, vegetables bought every 2–3 days, leftovers either eaten the next morning or thrown away.
• Cook hygiene: head covering, clean clothes, hand washing, and no cooking while ill.
• Gas: domestic LPG cylinders are for household use only. Using them in a commercial kitchen is prohibited under the LPG (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000 and is penalised under the Essential Commodities Act. Ask your gas distributor about commercial cylinders for the PG kitchen, and keep cylinders upright, outside closed spaces where possible, with the regulator checked regularly.
• Fire safety: keep a working fire extinguisher near the kitchen. See the PG maintenance checklist for how often to check it.

Do you need an FSSAI registration?

A business that prepares and sells food generally needs FSSAI registration. For small food businesses with annual turnover up to ₹12 lakh, that is the basic FSSAI registration, applied for online on the FoSCoS portal; above that, a state licence applies. Whether a PG mess serving only its own residents counts as a separate food business is not spelt out clearly for PGs, and local practice varies. If your food charges are significant, or you serve outsiders too, ask your local food safety officer. Registration is inexpensive and settles the question. See also our legal compliance checklist for PG owners.

Running the mess with My PG Manager

In My PG Manager you can:

• Publish your weekly food menu and meal timings, so tenants see them in the tenant app and on your public PG page.
• Take meal attendance (breakfast, lunch, dinner) so the cook knows how many people to cook for, and, if you choose, apply food deductions for agreed absences automatically.
• Record grocery, gas and cook salary expenses, and see what food really costs per month.
• Add mess charges to the monthly bill as a separate line, or keep food inside rent, with receipts on WhatsApp.
• Collect food complaints in one place instead of in a dozen WhatsApp chats.

It costs ₹159 a month for unlimited properties after a 14-day free trial. See pricing.

Frequently asked questions

How much should a PG charge for food per month?

Work it out from your own cost per tenant (see the table above) and add a margin. In the illustrative 20-tenant example, cost comes to about ₹4,250 per tenant for three vegetarian meals a day; your number depends heavily on local grocery prices, staff wages and occupancy.

Should a PG give refunds for meals tenants skip?

Most PGs don't, because cooking is planned for everyone and staff costs are fixed. A fair middle ground is a partial food refund for long absences agreed in advance, such as 7 or more days away. Write the rule down either way.

Is it better to hire a cook or use a tiffin service?

Below about 10–12 tenants, a tiffin service is often cheaper and less work. Above that, a cook usually works out cheaper per meal and gives you control over taste and timing.

Can I use domestic LPG cylinders in my PG kitchen?

Domestic cylinders are meant for household use, and using them for commercial purposes is prohibited. Ask your gas distributor for commercial cylinders for the PG kitchen.

Sources

• PG facility and rent figures: My PG Manager public listings (716 active public PGs), October 2026.
• FSSAI basic registration for turnover up to ₹12 lakh: ClearTax, TaxBuddy.
• Domestic LPG for commercial use prohibited under the LPG Control Order 2000, clause 3(c): Government of Nagaland, IPR notice; distributor penalties: Lok Sabha answer.

Last reviewed: October 2026. Costs in the example are illustrative; use your own local prices.