5 things: Valencia College closes cafeterias and will rely on food trucks, vending

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:

Students at Valencia College campuses in Florida will be without cafeterias as well as most brick and mortar food services this spring as food vendor Aladdin Food Management Services, LLC has terminated its contract with the school earlier than expected after reportedly suffering heavy financial losses the past two years. In response, Valencia has moved to implement rotating food truck schedules to alleviate the lack of options from the now closed cafeterias, with vending machines, Smart Market stations and the campus Dunkin’ Donuts unit also remaining operational.

Read more: Valencia College Turns to Food Trucks After Early Exit of Food Services Vendor

NYC Health Hospitals says it is now offering 14 new, tasty “chef’s choice” plant-based dishes as the primary dinner option for inpatients at all of its 11 public hospitals, with plans to expand the plant-based menu options to its five post-acute care facilities in early 2023. The system expects to serve about 850,000 plant-based meals inspired by the flavors of Latin America, Asia, and other places that represent the system’s diverse patient population in 2023 as part of the some three million meals it serves annually.

Related:5 things: Sodexo North America posts 15.7% organic revenue gain in FY2023 Q1

Read more: NYC Health Hospitals Now Serving Culturally-Diverse Plant-Based Meals As Primary Dinner Option for Inpatients at All of Its 11 Public Hospitals

The new year has started with clean slates for families in the Wellington Schools in Ohio as their breakfast and lunch bills have been paid off by donors. About $4,200 in combined meal debt was zeroed out for 215 students, district Treasurer Mark Donnelly said, after Andrea Helton, who runs the district cafeterias, launched a “Christmas campaign” in December on the district’s social media accounts. Donnelly said the full amount received to date is $6,619, with pledges for more.

Read more: 'Santas' pay off school cafeteria debts for 215 Wellington kids

Tech execs are moving from the idea about fast-paced growth to protecting their bottom line in the tech industry, with Salesforce Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. recently announcing intentions for layoffs. The cuts at Amazon represent the largest in the tech sector so far, affecting more than 18,000 workers, mostly in retail, recruiting and device businesses, while Salesforce said it would cut 10% of its staff. Among other major players, DocuSign plans to cut 9% of its workforce before October, Snapchat plans to make cuts of 20%, and more than 1,000 companies have laid off over 150,000 since the onset of 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi, though many of those laid off are bouncing back into new positions as unemployment remains at a low.

Related:5 tech things: Jamba by Blendid expands into the healthcare market

Read more: Layoffs Coming to Bigger Tech Firms as Mindset Changes

Delaware North has announced its continued expansion in the parks and lodging sector through the acquisition of the Best Western Premier Grand Canyon Squire Inn, a 322-room hotel and resort located only seven miles from the South Rim entrance of Grand Canyon National Park, making it one of the closest lodging options to the park. The Squire Resort is now the second hotel being operated by Delaware North near or in Grand Canyon National Park, and the company also currently operates Yavapai Lodge, Trailer Village RV Park and several general stores in Grand Canyon Village for the National Park Service.

In other company news, Delaware North's Sportservice unit announced a 10-year contract extension, through 2036, with Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres, for which it has operated concessions, premium dining and retail services at the team's Petco Park home ballpark since its inaugural season in 2004.

Read more: Delaware North Continues To Grow Its Parks and Resorts Portfolio With Acquisition of Grand Canyon Squire Inn

Bonus: FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick: The dirt on making composting cool from BGSU marketing guru

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]