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10 biggest healthcare dining stories of 2020

From micro markets to salad-making robots, these are the stories that impact hospital dining this year.

Becky Schilling, Group Content Director/Editor-in-chief

December 7, 2020

10 Slides
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When the coronavirus pandemic hit this country, hospitals quickly became the front line. Hospital dining programs had to quickly transition to serving patients sick with the virus, but found ways to do so in safe ways for their employees. Many pivoted away from their traditional room service models and instead provided meals at set times for nurses to deliver to COVID-positive patients to reduce the number of people with exposure and to cut down on PPE, which was difficult to purchase early in the pandemic.

But it wasn’t just patients that healthcare foodservice programs were faced with. They continued to serve the doctors and nurses who were so selflessly serving the community. Dining directors quickly realized that it wasn’t a hot entrée or cup of coffee that would make the biggest impact on those healthcare workers. Instead, it was toilet paper and cleaning supplies and bulk meals. These micro markets quickly popped up on hospital grounds, offering a quick and easy way for hospital workers to pick up items without having to stop at grocery stores on the way home from work.

The year’s top stories also saw salad-making robots at the Mayo Clinic, 41 healthcare dining workers who are Foodservice Heroes, tips to reopen your café after the spring shutdowns and real-time feedback on hospital patient meal service (obviously, a pre-COVID initiative).

Here are the 10 biggest stories of the year.

About the Author

Becky Schilling

Group Content Director/Editor-in-chief

Becky Schilling is Food Management’s editor-in-chief, and the group content director for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, managing editorial for digital, print and events for Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, Food Management and Supermarket News media brands. Becky holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Texas A&M University and a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Before joining Food Management in 2014, Becky was with FoodService Director magazine for seven years, the last two as editor-in-chief. Becky is a history nerd and a sports fanatic, especially college football—Gig'em Ags—and tennis. A born and raised Texan, Becky currently resides in New York City.

Becky Schilling’s areas of expertise include the onsite foodservice industry (K-12 schools, colleges and universities, healthcare and B&I), foodservice menus, operational best practices and innovation.

Becky Schilling is a frequent speaker at industry events including The Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHF), The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) and The Society for Hospitality and Foodservice Management (SHFM).

Becky Schilling’s experience:

Group Content Director, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (Feb. 2020-present)

Editor-in-chief Food Management (Nov. 2014-present)

Director of Content Strategy & Optimization, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (March 2019-Feb. 2020)

Editor-in-chief, Supermarket News (April 2019-March 2019)

Executive Editor, Supermarket News (July 2016-April 2017)

Editor-in-chief, FoodService Director magazine (March 2013-Oct. 2014)

Managing Editor (FoodService Director magazine (March 2012-March 2013)

Associate Editor (FoodService Director magazine (Nov. 2007-March 2012)

Contact Becky Schilling at:

[email protected]

@bschilling_FM

https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-schilling-39194ba/

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