5 things: Cafeteria worker takes student’s lunch over $6 meal debt

Each Friday Food Management compiles a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the onsite foodservice news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of January 20:

1. 20,000 gummy bears, 2,000 bottles of champagne on Grammy menu

The music industry stalwarts attending the 62^nd annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Jan. 26 will chow down on an upscale/downscale array of foods and beverages courtesy of Executive Chef Manny Slomovits of Levy Restaurants, which operates food and beverage at the venue. This year’s Grammy menu includes a slew of gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian dishes as well as a kid’s fever dream snack combo called the Grammy Snack Party Mix, which is a combination of Popcornopolis popcorn, chocolate bites, gummy bears, Sour Patch Kids and Bugles chips.

According to Slomovits, 800 food and beverage team members will be opening more than 2,000 bottles of champagne, hand-rolling over 5,500 mini egg rolls, prepping and adding one ton of vegan and vegetarian offerings into the menu, serving over 200 pounds of chocolate, setting out over 20,000 gummy bears and carving 12,500 ounces of prime tomahawk steak during the evening.

Other distinctive menu choices include Wagyu sous vide beef brisket with black garlic purple ube potatoes, pickled onions and a teriyaki demi-glace; truffled lobster mac & cheese; the Dr. FeelGood Superfood Greens with shredded kale, cabbage, carrots, cilantro and green onions with a carrot ginger dressing; and a farm-to-table mezz board with marinated and grilled vegetables, smoked seafood ceviche, artisan flatbreads, local jerky, lemon hummus and various other spreads.

Related:5 things: Breakfast after the bell boosts participation in Massachusetts schools

Read more: Here’s what the Grammy Awards will have on the menu at Staples Center

2. Cafeteria worker takes student’s lunch over $6 meal debt

A cafeteria worker at McCormick Middle School in the Wellington (Ohio) School District reportedly took away a student's lunch over a $6 debt and is now in hot water over it.

"Not only took it while he was eating. Did it in front of the whole cafeteria," said the student's parent, Brian Babb, in a social media post.

"This is not the kind of organization we want to run,” said Wellington Superintendent Ed Weber. “It is outside our operating procedures and we will make sure appropriate action is taken. My heart's broken over it."

Weber acknowledged that a McCormick cafeteria cashier let the student get a lunch and head toward a table when another employee took the food out of the child's hands, something that violated district policy, which allows students to incur $20 in cafeteria debt. When that happens, the student is supposed to get three additional meals and then there's a reserve fund that can be used to help them cover the cost of lunch, Weber said.

Related:5 things: Study says whole milk may help reduce child obesity

An investigation into the cafeteria worker's conduct was launched and disciplinary action ranging from a letter of reprimand to termination is expected.

Read more: Lunch debt fiasco: Wellington cafeteria worker took food from child who owed $6

3. Patient dragged out of hospital cafeteria by security guard

A patient at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia says he went to the cafeteria to grab lunch, but instead was grabbed by a security guard and dragged out. Jemel Minor, the alleged victim, says he has been seeing doctors at Jefferson since he was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia 16 years ago and was waiting for a procedure.

According to Minor’s attorney, nurses were looking for him and had asked a security guard to bring him back to his room. A surveillance camera caught the incident, which apparently was also seen by a number of eyewitnesses.

The hospital discharged Minor the day following the incident, and he has filed a lawsuit for excessive force. A spokesperson for the hospital confirmed that the security officer is still employed at Jefferson.

Read more: Jefferson Hospital patient claims security guard dragged him out of cafeteria

4. Cafeteria manager admits keeping stolen funds

The cafeteria manager at Patriot Academy in Dandridge, Tenn., has been indicted on theft charges after an investigation by the Tennessee Office of the Comptroller. A release from the comptroller's office said Christina Morris is accused of stealing at least $1,660.75 in cash that was collected from the school cafeteria between Nov. 1, 2018, and March 6, 2019.

The investigation began after county and school department officials determined that numerous cafeteria collections were not being deposited on time. Officials reported this information to Comptroller’s Office, and confronted Morris about the problem. After she was confronted, Morris returned $1,677 to the school and was placed on administrative leave.

Morris reportedly admitted that she had been using the funds for her personal use. She resigned on April 11, 2019.

Read more: Report: Dandridge school cafeteria manager admits to keeping stolen funds

5. Elior adds former Guckenheimer business development VP Tim Anderson

Elior North America has announced the appointment of Tim Anderson as chief growth officer. Anderson joins Elior after most recently serving as chief commercial officer and executive vice president of business development for ISS North America, which he joined following ISS’s acquisition of food services management company Guckenheimer in 2017. Anderson led sales, retention, marketing, pricing and bid management for the Guckenheimer subsidiary and grew new business by more than 10% annually.

Previously, Anderson directed growth, retention and partnership development strategies as Guckenheimer's vice president of business development, where he doubled the brand's portfolio size by helping create and execute go-to-market partnerships with wellness industry leaders.

Prior to his roles at ISS and Guckenheimer, Anderson led the growth strategy, inclusive of acquisitions, mergers and the successful integration of multiple companies, brands and cultures at the LSG Sky Chefs  inflight contract catering company.

Read more: Elior North America Appoints 30-Year Industry Vet to Lead Growth Strategy

Bonus: Foodservice operators struggle to find labor, fill open positions

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]