5 things: San Fran café ban changes to permit reg

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 Dec. 10:

1. San Fran café ban changes to permit reg

A couple of months ago, the city of San Francisco had considered legislation that would ban workplace cafeterias, saying the dining operations hurt the local restaurant industry and kept those workplaces, mainly tech companies, from integrating into the community. The city is no longer looking at the ban, but instead proposing the need for special permits for a new workplace cafeteria to be built inside an office. The permit would be a conditional use permit, and factors that would be used in determining its granting would include whether the cafeteria was open to the public, the impact it would have on the existing foodservice establishments in the neighborhood and if employers subsidized the café for employees. The permit proposal now heads to the Planning Commission for review, where the committee has 90 days to make a recommendation.

Read more: Ban on tech cafeterias dropped in favor of special permit requirement

2. Could Amazon Go move into onsite operations?

First Amazon took over the book market. With the tech giant’s purchase of Whole Foods last year, it’s looking to take the lead in the food retail space. Could the company now turn its sights onto onsite dining operations? That’s the suggestion of some industry watchers following Amazon’s first cashierless Amazon Go c-store opening in the company’s Seattle offices. The store is only 450 square feet and offers items from salad to snacks for the company’s workers.  Amazon Go’s vice president said the new format could serve hospitals and B&I locations. Other reports have suggested the company might also look at putting the format into airports, but no confirmations have been made.

Read more: Amazon aims at office workers with compact cashier-less food store

3. Ohio State opens bacon vending machine

We’ve seen a lot of things being dispensed from vending machines, from pizza to salads, but this one’s new. Students at Ohio State can get bacon from a vending machine for $1. The machine is in the animal science building and is being stocked by students in the meat science program. The machine is only around for a limited time, but it sure seems like a good idea to us.

Read more: There's a bacon vending machine at Ohio State

4. How safe is the food you eat at a sporting event?
We love to share the outrageous menu items that the culinary masters develop for sporting stadiums each year. A new report from ESPN’s Outside the Lines might have you questioning your dining decisions, however. The journalists collected more than 16,000 food safety inspection reports at the 111 professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey facilities in the country between 2016 and 2017 and found that at 28 percent of those venues, half or more of the foodservice outlets incurred a high-level violation. Those violations could pose the potential for a foodborne illness threat.

Read more: What's lurking in your stadium food?

5. Teachers deliver meals during snow days

When school is out, many students don’t have meals to eat, particularly those on the free or reduced-price meal program. When a big winter storm hit Virginia, school was out for several days, so teachers delivered meals to students in need. The meals weren’t provided by child nutrition programs but rather from donations. One district in West Virginia, however, does offer a snow-day meal service for students.

Read more: Teachers deliver food to students during snow day

Bonus: Hospital system changing menus, changing mind

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