5 things: Northwestern deletes calorie info from dining halls

In this edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments affecting onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

On Feb. 2, Northwestern University Dining removed the calorie counts from food labels in all undergraduate dining halls. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Eating Concerns Coordinator and staff therapist Fallon Weatherspoon said the CAPS eating assessment and treatment team heard feedback from several students struggling with eating disorders about how calories displayed in the dining halls were triggering, which prompted the change.

Read more: NU Dining removes calorie counts from dining halls in response to research, student feedback

Aluminum manufacturing firm Novelis’ new headquarters in Atlanta is smaller than its previous facility and is following a hybrid and “hoteling” work model, which means employees must reserve the workspaces they intend to use when coming into the office. The company—which says it went into the process of designing the new headquarters knowing it would never go back to the previous ways of working where all employees were in the office all day during the week—implemented engaging communal spaces, like one central cafeteria where laptops are prohibited, snack bars on every floor and hubs for collaboration that look like bungalows in order to lure employees back. It seems to be working: in the company's old corporate headquarters, a little over a hundred of the assigned 600 employees would come in during the week, whereas now, the company is nearly at full capacity Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, while most still take Monday and Friday as work-from-home days.

Related:5 things: Study finds universal school meals improve attendance for youngest students

Read more: Novelis designs new Buckhead headquarters with an eye toward sustainability

The end of COVID-era food and nutrition benefits is bringing an ebb to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 32 states as of March 1. With a quickly approaching cliff and 18 states already having lost emergency benefits, digital food-as-medicine programs like Instacart, FarmboxRx and About Fresh are expanding their reach.

Read more: As SNAP benefits wane, food-as-medicine companies carve out a niche in healthcare

Brand new data from the largest study to investigate food allergy and air travel were presented recently at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) 2023 Annual Meeting in San Antonio. Results from the study showed that 98% of participants experienced added anxiety when traveling due to their food allergy and a "lamentingly high number" reported negative experiences such as being told one thing when booking a flight and another thing happening in the moment. The study emphasized the need for consistent policies that support individuals managing food allergies while traveling.

Related:5 tech things: Legends allies with food tech firm C3 on “elevated” food hall concept

Read more: Largest Study on Food Allergies in Air Travel Uncovers Unmet Needs

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) national health advocacy organization is appealing to the Queen’s Health System, Hawaii’s largest private health care system, to stop sponsoring a festival celebrating the processed meat Spam. In a letter to Queen’s Health System President/CEO Dr. Jill Hoggard Green, PCRM RD Stephanie McBurnett pointed out that the World Health Organization has classified processed meats like Spam a group 1 carcinogen.

Read more: Physicians Group Asks Health Care System to Stop Sponsoring Processed Meat Festival

Bonus: Delaware North debuts multi-story restaurant at Orlando Airport

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]