I was thinking that the replicators would be most useful in recycling material. The Captain eats a burger (mostly carbohydrates and protein) and then 24 hrs later has changed most of that into bacterial biomass, which is still primarily carbohydrates and protein, just in an unusable form. The captain's waste is then resequenced into usable food again (ie. burger take 2). That is the beauty of the protein resequencers (Enterprise) through replicators (ST:TNG).
So I suggest that the replicators should reduce maint. or generate
very modest levels of supplies. Give em a 1 kt size, maximum 3 per ship, generate 25 supplies each month... that sort of thing. Sure not the most earth shattering effect, but I like the subtle things too
