5 things: Capitol Hill foodservice employees owed $1 million in back wages

Each Friday I compile a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of July 25:

1. Capitol Hill foodservice employees owed $1 million in back wages, gov finds
An investigation by the Labor Department found that 674 foodservice workers employed in Capitol Hill cafeterias were owed $1 million in back wages. The investigation found that their employers, Restaurant Associates and subcontractor Personnel Plus, did not classify the workers correctly, which meant they didn’t receive the minimum hourly rate required by the government.  

Read more: Capitol Hill cafeteria workers win $1M in back pay

2. Twitter photo appears to show inappropriate meal served to patient with heart problem
Social media is a great way to air your grievances, which is exactly what one patient’s friend did regarding a meal served to his girlfriend’s mother. The mother was admitted to the emergency room for an irregular heartbeat, and the meal served to her included a bag of chips and cookies. When the patient’s family asked the hospital’s dietitian about the meal, they were told, “if our hospital offered something like an organic kale salad with a side of quinoa to some of our patients in the ER, there would be massive rioting,” according to an article on attn.com. This is clearly not indicative of all food served in hospitals, but coverage like this certainly doesn’t help dispel the myth of bad hospital food.

Read more: This One Photo Reveals Something Disturbing About Our Hospitals

3. Google serving lab-grown shrimp
A new company is creating what it calls a more sustainable source of seafood by growing it in a lab. The company, New Wave Foods, says that for each pound of shrimp caught, up to 15 pounds of other animals die due to lack of food. So New Wave Foods set about to help mitigate the problem, by creating shrimp in its labs. The company says lab-grown shrimp has already been served in Google’s cafeterias, and other organizations have expressed interest in the product.

Read more: Sustainable Meat: Seafood Made From Plants May Soon Replace Your Cafeteria Food

4. Acquittals for two in alleged school food fraud case  
Two lawyers have been acquitted for alleged corruption of school meal applications in New Jersey. A state’s attorney generals office investigation alleged that the two lawyers helped a former school board member with getting free meals for his children. The investigation alleged that the three men helped file a federal application for free meals. The lawyers were alleged to have helped remove the application from district files so it could not be turned over upon subpoena and that the lawyers then arranged to have the application returned to the district’s files when the children were switched from free meals to paid. The school board member is charged with theft by deception, tampering with public records and falsifying or tampering with records.   

Read more: 2nd lawyer acquitted in Elizabeth schools 'free lunch' case investigation

5. Packers to have all-bacon concession stand
Everything is better with bacon, but the Green Bay Packers are testing that saying by opening an all-bacon concession stand. The team already has its own official bacon, so the extension to an all-bacon stand seems like a natural progression. Some of the menu items include the Pigskin, a baked potato wrapped in bacon, dressed with chili, bacon, cheddar cheese, sour cream, chives, bacon-crusted cheese curds and a side of bacon-ranch dressing.

Read more: The Green Bay Packers Will Have an All-Bacon Concession Stand at Lambeau Field

Bonus: 3 quick bites: Take a step into the food trend time machine

Contact Becky Schilling at [email protected].
Follow her on Twitter: @bschilling_FM