Feeding your crew
Facts checked 1 Nov 2026
Your first job with a hired crew is always the same: feed it. A tutor crew will rarely be full when you hire it, and a hungry crew works more slowly. This lesson explains how food works and how to top your crew up to 100%. It's also your first real action in the game, so it's a gentle way to get used to approving things with your wallet.
How food works
- Food Runs Down Over Time: Every crewmate eats steadily, all the time, whether the crew is working or not. The crew's food level shows as a percentage.
- Full Speed Above 50%: While the level stays above 50%, your crew works at full speed. From a full larder, that lasts about a week of real time.
- Slower Below 50%: Below 50%, the crew slows down, all the way to a quarter of its normal speed when it is nearly out of food. A starving crew can still work; it just takes far longer.
- How Much a Full Larder Holds: 1,000 kg of food per crewmate, so a crew of five, like Academy Teachers, holds 5,000 kg. At half full, it needs about 2,500 kg to be topped up.
Topping up your crew
Your crew can buy food straight from a marketplace on its asteroid, so it never needs to collect it first:
- In the game, select your tutor crew and check its food level.
- Choose Resupply Food.
- Pick Academy Market 1 as the source, and buy enough food to bring your crew up to 100%.
- Check the total price in SWAY, then confirm the action in your wallet.
That's it: your crew is fed and ready to work. Keep an eye on the level as you go, and top it up again before it falls below 50%.
Good habits
- Feed Before You Work: Make feeding your crew the first thing you do every time you hire one.
- Feed Again Mid-Hire: From full, your crew stays above 50% for about a week, so on a 14-day hire, top it up again about halfway through.
- Top Up Before Long Jobs: An extraction or refining job can run for many hours. Start it with a full larder.
- Don't Overbuy: A crew can't hold more than 1,000 kg per crewmate, and anything you buy goes with the crew when your hire ends.
Your crew is fed and ready. Next comes Course 03, Extracting, where your crew gets to work.