5 things: United Center food workers strike threatens Big Ten basketball tourney

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:

1.    United Center food workers strike threatens Big Ten basketball tourney

Concession workers at the United Center arena in Chicago held a one-day strike on Sunday, March 5 during the Bulls' game against the Pacers, but said more job actions could be possible the following week if they don't get what they believe is a fair contract. The Big Ten Conference is scheduled to hold its postseason basketball tournament at the venue beginning March 8.

Read more: United Center concession workers stage one-day strike ahead of Big Ten Tournament

2.    Rattlesnake sausage, walking tacos on the menu at spring training stadiums

 Fans venturing to the 10 Major League Baseball Cactus League spring training stadiums in Arizona can enjoy not only ballpark staples like hot dogs, hamburgers and beer but some new twists as well. For instance, Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Salt River Fields in Scottsdale along with Camelback Ranch and American Family Fields in west Phoenix all have a handful of unique offerings, including rattlesnake sausages, walking tacos, Tosti eloté and stir fry.

Read more: Rattlesnake sausages? Cactus League ballparks up their game for spring training

Related:5 things: Laid-off Meta cafeteria workers want same severance benefits as company employees

3.    Vegan meat brand’s expansion strategy focuses on HBCU dining halls

Backed by Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban, Black-owned vegan meat brand Everything Legendary recently launched at Bowie State University, a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) in Maryland, with another Maryland HBCU, Morgan State University, set to follow. This spring, the company plans to launch in 50 additional schools with a particular focus on HBCUs.

Read more: 2 HBCUs Are Going Vegan With Help from Black-Owned Vegan Meat Brand Everything Legendary

4.    NBC News report looks at the crisis in K-12 meal programs

Food providers that many of the nation’s public school students rely on for meals are increasingly charging more than administrators can afford, representatives for hundreds of districts and their food-buying groups across the country told NBC News. Their longtime contractors—an array of manufacturers, distributors and suppliers—are passing on higher costs for everything from milk to aluminum foil, raising prices at short notice, missing deliveries or shifting their businesses away from the K-12 market.

Read more: The broken business of feeding America’s schoolchildren

5.     Remote work, erratic office attendance plague corporate dining programs

Related:5 tech things: Alphabet axes cafeteria cleaning robots

When the number of employees present in the office fluctuates daily, it becomes challenging for an employer to justify the maintenance of big, mediocre cafeterias that sit half-empty. In New York City, for example, 10% of employees are fully remote, according to the Partnership for New York City, and only 9% are present in their office five days a week. Under such conditions, chefs find it difficult to preorder standardized quantities for daily menus.

Read more: Corporate Cafeterias Hunger For Customers

Bonus: Tarleton State University responds to student requests with a bigger, better c-store

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]