5 things: University sued over food-allergen-related death

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:

A lawsuit has been filed against Trinity University in Illinois claiming a freshman died after eating contaminated food at the campus dining hall last summer. The complaint filed in the Lake County Circuit Court claims 18-year-old Avery Gilbert, who had an allergy to fish, ate food from the Trinity dining hall that was labeled allergen-free but which the lawsuit claims was "cross-contacted" with allergens, causing him to suffer a severe allergic reaction.

Read more:  Family files wrongful death lawsuit after student suffers fatal allergic reaction at suburban university

Workers in Manhattan are spending at least $12.4 billion less a year due to about 30% fewer days in the office as the typical in-office work week has settled into a three-day Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday routine with Mondays and Fridays seeing mostly empty offices, according to a Bloomberg News analysis using exclusive data from Stanford University economist Nicholas Bloom’s WFH Research group. That means the average worker is spending $4,661 less per year on meals, shopping and entertainment near their offices in New York, while San Francisco is seeing $3,040 less and Chicago $2,387 less as these behaviors are most entrenched in cities with longer commutes, a higher proportion of white-collar workforces and longer-lasting pandemic restrictions. The reduced in-office time of course also impacts onsite corporate dining programs.

Related:5 things: Compass North America sees 23% organic revenue increase in Q1

Read more: Remote Work Is Costing Manhattan More Than $12 Billion a Year

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at Ohio State university is working with Ohio State Dining Services to increase the number of diverse food options being offered for the university's large international student population—numbering some 5,500 last year—as well as for the student body overall. To kick off the initiative, six new dishes chosen from survey results of feedback from 178 students were served at select university dining locations on Lunar New Year (Jan. 22), including doughnuts, lo main pork buns, pork dumplings and momos. Zia Ahmed, senior director of student dining, said that due to the popularity of the event, USG is currently working with Dining Services to have diverse food options available for students permanently.

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Read more: Order Up: USF Adding Diverse Food, International Options to Campus Menu

Food and Nutrition Services at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina is going green through strategies like expanded composting of food and paper waste, offering local produce grown with that compost for sale in the medical center cafeteria, compacting trash to reduce waste going to landfills, switching from plastic bottles to boxed water and reintroducing washable plates and silverware in the cafeteria. “As one of the largest places to dine in the area, it’s important that we are a leader in sustainable practices,” said Melanie Adams, director of food and nutrition services across the Wake Forest Baptist region. “This is about doing the right things for our environment and using our limited resources responsibly for the sake of future generations.”.

Read more: Health system’s food and nutrition operations go green for future generations

Food for Thought, an exhibit highlighting Baltimore City Schools food service workers, recently opened at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. In September, a preview of the installation opened in the lobby of the district’s headquarters on North Avenue. Beth Maloney, director of interpretation, said the goal of the museum is to highlight a variety of working people in Baltimore. “It was such an honor to be able to partner with this team [Food & Nutrition Services], and to shine a spotlight on the work that they're doing in our city.”

Read more: Baltimore celebrates public school cafeteria workers with a new exhibit

Bonus: Viewpoint: Colleges expanding kosher, halal offerings

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]