After the purification ceremony, the community members proceeded to the refectory, to partake of the communal meal. Apparently, the meal was held in a large assembly room, the remains of which have been uncovered to the south of the central building. In a room adjacent to the refectory, more than a thousand serving and eating utensils were found. The sect members seem to have eaten seated on mats, arranged in rows running parallel to the long walls of the room. Their diet was varied and included bread, dates, date honey, dairy products, and even meat. The scrolls mention that the sectarians drank a beverage called tirosh, but it is uncertain whether this refers to wine or to some sort of unfermented fruit juice.

The sectarians perceived their community life as a kind of "spiritual temple", which replaced the real Temple in Jerusalem, with the daily communal meals serving as a spiritual substitute for the daily sacrifices. This would explain their strict observance of ritual purification prior to participation in the communal meal. It is possible that the communal meal was seen as a forerunner of the feasts of the righteous in the End of Days, and as such it is reminiscent of Jesus' Last Supper, as described in Matthew.