5 coronavirus things: CDC study finds racial, income gaps in child breakfast consumption

In this special edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments regarding coronavirus and its impact on onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

While 82% of children and young adults overall eat breakfast on a given day, the proportion drops with advancing age, diminished family income and a child’s ethnicity, with Black and Hispanic children across all age groups being less likely to eat breakfast than their white and Asian peers, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics.

The research using 2015-2018 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey emphasizes the importance of school breakfast programs, says Mary Story, PhD, RD, a professor of global health, family medicine and community health at Duke University. 

"That is really striking, and it shows the critical need and role of school meals," she said, adding that future public health interventions might include providing universal school breakfasts to reduce stigma for students who participate in free and reduced-lunch programs. She also said ensuring students have access to breakfasts on the weekends or during summer months is crucial.

Related:Best Concepts: Aramark’s automated QuickEats Close Convenience store offers frictionless, consumer-friendly shopping experience

Read more: CDC: Nearly 20% of U.S. Kids Don't Get Breakfast

FoodWorks, the unit of Compass Group that brings local restaurants to onsite cafes, opened its first Market Café street retail location in Chicago’s River North district on Sept. 19. Initial participating restaurants at the Market Café 300 location include Tradecraft Outfitters Coffee & Tea Bar, healthy bowls concept Aloha Poke, Italian concept Freddie’s Beef, Mexican concept Flash Taco, premium bakery Poppie’s Dough, grab-and-go salad/sandwich concept Jack and Olive, and gourmet good retailers like Black Crow Candle Co. and Ms Jana’s Candy.

The concept offers completely contact-free transactions through a single mobile app that allows guests to scan, pay and leave without ever interacting with a cashier, including the option to order and pick up items from a designated shelf to maintain social distancing.

Read more: FOODWORKS Expands New Market Cafe in Chicago October 19

FM Top 50 firm Thomas Cuisine has named Alison Patt president/CEO, succeeding Mark Kadell, who will step down and retire as of Jan. 1, 2021, though he will remain on the company’s board of directors. Patt, who brings over a decade of contract foodservice and hospitality experience, most recently served as group president of Continental Services, another FM Top 50 firm.

Related:One On One With: Healthcare dining’s next tech and teamwork challenges

Read more: Thomas Cuisine appoints Alison Patt as CEO

Major CEOs are beginning to rethink the long-term value of remote work, questioning how much remote Zoom meetings really achieve and suggesting they lead to a sterile work culture lacking in imagination. A survey conducted in September by design firm Vocon found that 40% of people who ran businesses have noticed decreases in productivity from remote working staff—56% of that same group rated productivity as "excellent" back in April—while another survey by virtual tech firm Lucid found that workers didn't feel like they needed to behave during virtual meetings when no one was looking. Most of them admitted to "questionable behavior" during virtual brainstorm meetings, including 1 in 10 who admitted using the bathroom while on a call.

Read more: Time To Ditch Those Awful Zoom Calls, CEOs Say

New research conducted by Compass One Healthcare and Press Ganey shows that hospital patients’ perceptions of safe, high-quality, patient-centered care are influenced by every touchpoint across the care experience, including patient interactions and experiences with members of the environmental services and food and nutrition services teams. Among the report’s key findings are that more than 95% of patients are likely to recommend a hospital when they give high ratings to their food service and room cleanliness, a rating that drops to 76% when neither one receives a top rating.

Read more: New Compass One Healthcare-Press Ganey Research Shows Impact of Environmental, Food & Nutrition Services on Patient Safety and Loyalty

Bonus: New Mexico State University and Sodexo test mobile food carts running on electricity

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]