3 reasons FSDs are losing sleep this week

As if ongoing labor challenges, food costs and consumers’ finicky demands aren’t insomnia-inducing enough, foodservice directors are facing a host of other mounting concerns sure to keep them from getting their recommended 40 winks. Here’s a rundown of the reasons FSDs may be tossing and turning:

1. Because some colleges and recreational facilities could be forced to swap chips for chia-seed snacks in vending machines

A Maryland bill introduced last week seeks to displace a giant chunk of the unhealthy snacks and sodas in vending machines on state property. It would require that 75 percent of the treats and drinks sold in machines meet healthy criteria—and includes machines at state colleges and universities, parks and recreation facilities, government office buildings and more in its sweep. Vending companies that don’t comply would face fines. Could snacks and drink options offered by foodservice operators be next? Many FSDs across the country already have gotten clever about promoting healthier drinks and snacks over more indulgent ones in their own facilities, stopping short of eliminating sweet and salty snacks. Eventually, that may not be an option.

2. Because student diners have camera phones, and they’re not afraid to use them

A photo posted on social media went viral last week. It was taken by an Indiana high school student and shows what he found when he peeled back the lid on a can of cream cheese he got during breakfast from the school cafeteria—a moldy, inedible mess. Though the incident was a one-off (other cans were tested and not found to contain mold) and occurred with a packaged product, the school’s foodservice department caught heat when the story spread online. Similar mobile-photo “gotcha” moments have plagued K-12, college and hospital foodservice recently. Operators, of course, prefer diners bring the problem directly to them, rather than blowing up an incident in social media. But they also should resist the urge to discourage kids from photographing their food. That’s because academic research out last week finds that when consumers shoot and share pictures of their food—the delicious, nonmoldy kind, that is—they perceive it as tasting better.

3. Because Chipotle-style problems are spreading to campuses

More than 50 students were recently sickened over the weekend before last by a stomach virus on the campus of Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. Tests are underway to determine the actual cause and source, but officials say the symptoms are similar to those seen with norovirus—a problem that recently has battered the reputation of restaurant chain Chipotle. A local news source reports that Lafayette’s dining department is using “alternate serving methods” and issuing the sick students to-go containers to avoid spreading the virus. And other colleges have faced similar concerns.