5 things: Delaware North cuts 500-plus jobs nationally

Each Friday Food Management compiles a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the onsite foodservice news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of September 14:

Delaware North, the Buffalo concessions and hospitality giant whose business operations have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, is eliminating 14% of its local full-time jobs, and 4% of its U.S. full-time workforce. The company is permanently cutting 139 jobs in the Buffalo area, among 517 jobs nationally. The affected employees were notified Tuesday.

The family-owned company is reeling from the pandemic’s effect on attendance at venues, including stadiums, airports, national and state parks, hotels and casinos. Executives said the dire situation, combined with uncertainty over how soon conditions will improve, forced the company to take drastic action.

Read more: Delaware North, pummeled by pandemic, cutting 14% of Buffalo-area full-time jobs

U.S. workers who are being shepherded back to the office would rather continue doing their jobs from home, at least a few days a week. A Wells Fargo/Gallup survey released Wednesday found 42% of 1,094 workers surveyed in August had a positive view of working remotely, versus 14% who viewed it negatively. Almost a third of the 1,200 U.S. office workers surveyed by consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers in June said they’d prefer to never go back to the office, while 72% said they’d like to work away from the office at least two days a week.

Related:Atlanta Public Schools pools resources to deliver meals to students

Read more: When to Stop Working From Home? How About Never, Workers Say

Due to COVID-19, Auburn Campus Dining added food lockers to Foy Hall to keep employees and costumers safe. Auburn students will be able to preorder their food to Foy on the Fly, a locker pickup station located in War Eagle Food Court. This system will stop students from entering buffet lines and reduce possible exposure to the virus.

Students will have the option to place an order on Grubhub and send them to Foy on the Fly. Ninety percent of standard campus dining options are open to choose from. Once the food arrives at the locker, it will be locked with a code to keep other students from stealing it. "They put their code into the food locker. It lights up. It flashes. And they're able to grab their food and go," said Glenn Loughridge, director of Campus Dining at Auburn.

Related:District trades breakfasts and lunches for grocery bags

Read more: Auburn University Expands Their Dining Hall Safety Efforts

Food service provider Bon Appetit Management Co. told the state that it will lay off 224 people due to reduced or suspended operations at the University of Portland. The North Portland school began the new academic year on Aug. 24 with nearly all classes exclusively online and residence halls closed with limited exceptions. In a notice dated Sept. 1 but released by the state this week, Bon Appetit said the terminations will come on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

Read more: University of Portland food service provider laying off 224 workers

Hot dog and beer vendors will be a rare sight in NFL stadium aisles this season as officials work to overhaul concessions operations and create a safe environment for fans during the coronavirus pandemic. Only a handful of the NFL’s 32 teams will have fans in attendance when the season kicks off this weekend. With social-distancing mandates in place, multiple NFL stadiums have eliminated food and beverage hawkers entirely in favor of contactless and, in many cases, cashless models meant to limit potential exposure and set fans up with their favorite gameday snacks as safely as possible.

Read more: NFL stadiums reinvent concessions stands to protect fans, leaving some workers on sidelines

Bonus: Flavor of the Month: Bonito is more than just a seasoning

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]