5 things: Study suggests free/reduced stats may not reflect actual poverty

In this edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments affecting onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

A new research paper claims that the use of free/reduced-price meal eligibility in a student body that many government officials and school administrators use to distribute aid is a misleading and outdated proxy for measuring poverty. About 52% of U.S. students were eligible for free and reduced-price meals in 2019, according to the most recent federal data, but prioritizing dollars for all those students risks diluting aid for the ones who need it the most, the paper argues.

Read more: How Many Students Are Living in Poverty? The Number Is Likely Wrong

In this interview about how PepsiCo is approaching the new workplace culture, Sergio Ezama, the company's chief talent officer and chief human resources officer, Global Functions and Groups, talked about its new "Work that Works" plan in which the office will no longer be the primary location for where work gets done, and corporate employees around the globe will decide with their managers which days they'll be in the office and when they'll be remote.

Related:Viewpoint: Where can corporate dining fit in as offices reopen to hybrid models?

Of particular interest are his comments regarding the role of the office in this new environment: "One is to create and collaborate...research proves that these things are better done in the same physical environment...The second one is the connection. PepsiCo is a very social place, the one thing that people were telling us is: 'What I really miss and want to find in the office is a social connection, being with the people I love working with.' The third one is...celebrating the culture that we have and the brands we carry we also believe will be nicely done through the office experience. We believe the office will become that destination where we fulfill those four roles: create, collaborate, celebrate and connect."

It is the facilitation of those roles that a corporate dining program will have to offer for client companies that embrace this kind of office environment.

Read more: How PepsiCo is rethinking the office: More remote work. No assigned desks

Kellogg’s Away From Home is expanding its existing partnership with Sodexo to deliver its new Incogmeato by MorningStar Farms Burger Patties at more than 3,000 locations in the U.S., beginning with its operations in the healthcare market. A 2019 poll found two-thirds of Gen Z and more than half of millennials say they’re interested in plant-based protein, 60% prefering plant-based proteins and the rest a “just-like-meat” experience that the Incogmeato product is designed to satisfy.

Related:5 things: Sodexo North America reports 17.5% revenue gain in Q3

Read more: Kellogg inks three-year deal to provide plant-based products to Sodexo

Chartwells Higher Education, the new catering and dining vendor for the University of Idaho (UI), plans major changes in UI's campus dining program this fall, including new meal plans that will allow students to take at least some of their allotted weekly meals at other locations on campus rather than using them solely at the campus dining center in its Wallace dormitory complex. Other changes will include revamping the The Hub dining center to include nine newly revamped meal stations—including an allergy-friendly option called G8 with menu options that avoid the top eight most common allergens—a new specialty burger spot in the Idaho Student Union Building’s food court, the complete renovation of a dining space in the Learning Living Center dormitory complex to include the Mediterranean concept Pom and Honey, and a late-night, dine-out-only ghost kitchen called Cravings by Joe from which students will be able to preorder pizzas, milkshakes and other items for pickup between 8 p.m. and midnight through the mobile ordering app Boost.

Read more: UI has high hopes for its new food service provider

Like many reopening businesses, concessions operations at Oracle Park in San Francisco, which are managed by Bon Appetite Mgt. Co., are dealing with frustrating obstacles in finding workers and coping with supply chain issues. The result is impacting customers who are experiencing longer lines and reduced choices at the ballpark, home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants.

Read more: Long lines, no Sheboygans: Giants concessions struggle with post-pandemic workforce, supply chain issues

Bonus: Healthcare On Demand: Culinary Services Group’s John Mayer talks about the new dining program at Jackson Parish Hospital

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]