5 things: NFL’s Packers plan to go all grab-and-go at Lambeau Field

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:

 1.    Packers embrace grab and go trend at Lambeau Field

The NFL’s Green Bay Packers expect to convert virtually every concession stand at Lambeau Field to grab-and-go markets after seeing revenues surge as fans embrace the food service trend sweeping across the big leagues. The process was roughly 60% complete ahead of the 2023 regular-season home opener against New Orleans on Sunday, Sept. 24.

Read more: Lambeau Leaps to All Grab-and-Go

 2.    Partnership brings organic local milk to Vermont schools

A partnership between the Northeast Organic Family Farm Partnership, The Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, dairy farmer Pete Miller and the Windham Northeast Supervisory Union (WNSU) is bringing organic, local milk to students in four schools in Vermont. “We’re trying to prove that the concept will work,” said the WNSU's Harley Sterling. "Small school districts are not making a huge dent in Pete’s milk supply, but the value of what we’re trying to do is to create a model that can be scalable to other school districts."

Read more: Local schools bring local dairy to their cafeterias

Related:5 things: Students don’t get enough time to eat lunch, teachers tell survey

 3.    UNC Asheville loses composting program

UNC Asheville is no longer composting waste this semester after the school lost its composting contract with Atlas Organics in August. “Unfortunately, the company that has been transporting our materials to their composting facility is no longer providing this service,” David Todd, the Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Operations, announced in an email to faculty and staff. “Finding a new composting partner quickly is a top priority, but we do not have a contract in place at this time.”

Read more: UNC Asheville loses its composting program

 4.    Vegan chef offers free plant-based lunches to local businesses

Deborah Blum, a restaurateur, vegan chef and founder of Goatlandia farm animal sanctuary in Santa Rosa, Calif., is on a mission to deliver lunches to offices and workplaces around Sonoma County that are not only free of charge but also free of animal products and any trace of guilt. This past year, Blum opened Goatlandia Kitchen in a former Sebastopol barbecue joint where she’s been doing pop-ups, grab-and-go meals and the Lunchtime Takeover program that provides a plant-based lunch for 10 people for free with the free lunches funded by an anonymous donor on the East Coast, according to Blum.

Related:5 tech things: FAA gives go-ahead to expanded long-range drone delivery

Read more: Goatlandia owner, chef provides free plant-based workplace lunches

 5.    Medical center’s Food Rx program brings nutritious meal ingredients to participants

With a goal of helping at risk community members learn how to live a healthy lifestyle, the team at Summit Pacific Medical Center in Washington introduced Food Rx, food as medicine, in December of 2022 to eligible patients. Sponsored by Amerigroup, the patient-focused wellness program provides ingredients for five nutritious meals per week, recipes, and cooking classes to participants with chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Read more: Summit Pacific Medical Center Introduces Food Rx, a Novel Community Health Program

Bonus: 15 ways to make it rain meatballs

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]