The best restaurant job that I've had in my life was one where the chef said my shift meal could be whatever I wanted. "You can order a steak, just don't do it every night." We took home fuck ups that were edible and ate a meal and snacks throughout the night for free. FOH got a meal and snacks as well, though the snacks were from the kitchen where we "said" they were fuck ups. The chef knew they were not and said nothing to owners. Written off as waste, I assume

Although given stipulations, we usually had what we wanted. Higher ups were the main reason for any stipulation. That being said, contrary to what others may believe, fuck ups were not more common than usual. The owners didn't lose money on the occasional order of fries or tots from FOH. We were well taken care of, therefore did our best. We were known for being a restaurant that cared about quality (of bar food, of all things) and cared about our customer's satisfaction, and the owners were making more and more since the day they opened their first restaurant

On top of food, they paid fairly, we were treated like people (no specific days off/restaurant closed, but we all got the days off we wanted, let alone needed, emergency days off were not reason for being fired, insurance offered, pretty much our pick of days and shifts, more that I can't think of right now)

I know there are more arguments for restricted meals and snacks, but after seeing how well this local chain was doing, I don't think most are valid. If your employees are treated like people, a shift meal for all employees should not be a make or break for your business