5 things: Cafeteria worker attacked over regs

Each Friday I compile a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of Nov. 26:

1. Cafeteria worker attacked over regs

A cafeteria worker was attacked in a Baltimore school lunchroom recently after an argument over school meal regulations. The cafeteria worker’s sister (the worker is in the hospital with injures she said she sustained over the disagreement) said students attacked her sister after being told that if they wanted a carton of milk, they would also have to get the meal that is required to go along with that milk. When the students said they only wanted milk and the worker said it was protocol to get food with the milk, the students attacked the worker, according to the worker’s sister.

Read more: Cafeteria worker jumped by students at east Baltimore school

2. Student files lawsuit over school meal burn

A kindergartner in a Shelby County (Tennessee) school and her family are suing the district after the student says she was severely burned by a school meal. The student slipped on a wet spot in the cafeteria and mashed potatoes fell from the tray onto the student’s arm, which the lawsuit says caused a burn. The district did not comment on the pending lawsuit.

Read more: Girl severely burned by food after fall in Memphis school cafeteria, lawsuit claims

3. District struggles with romaine recall

Boulder Valley schools and its famed food services director Ann Cooper pride themselves on their fresh salad bars. But when romaine is recalled, it causes a real problem. Compounding the issue was the timing of the recall—when schools were out for Thanksgiving break. "It took us almost all day Monday so we would get product this morning at 6 a.m.," said Cooper in an article on the Daily Camera. "We had the entire team on this. Everything is ridiculously expensive. It's insane." Boulder Valley’s salad bars were stocked with other varieties of lettuce following the recall, including flat leaf spinach, cabbage and iceberg.

Read more: Romaine lettuce recall impacting Boulder Valley school salad bars; St. Vrain Valley had switched from romaine earlier this month

4. Report finds high levels of food insecurity in children

A new report has found that nearly half of families that bring a child to a hospital had experienced food insecurity. The report looked at food insecurity among inpatient children, something researchers said hadn’t been looked at. The study said that about 38 percent of families in the outpatient setting identified as food insecure, but the number rose to 44 percent for inpatients.

Read more: Nearly half of families report food insecurity during child’s hospitalization

5. Campus using plastic due to staffing shortage

The University of Missouri has been forced to use disposable plastic instead of reusable dishware due to a staffing shortage. Dining services said that out of 700 student staff positions, only 469 have been filled. As a result, dining services is using those staffers to man service positions rather than washing dishes.

Read more: MOVE Investigates: Understaffing creates plastic problem for Campus Dining Services

Bonus: 13 food trends that will matter in 2019

Contact Becky Schilling at [email protected].
Follow her on Twitter: @bschilling_FM