5 things: CEP participation grew nearly 21% in past year, FRAC report finds

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.    CEP sees nearly 21% increase in past year, FRAC report finds

The Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools, School Year 2022–2023 report from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) found that during the 2022–2023 school year, 40,235 schools adopted the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) that allows high-need schools to offer breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge, an increase of 6,935 schools, or 20.8%, from the prior school year. Thirty-nine states saw increases in community eligibility participation during the 2022–2023 school year, according to the report, which analyzed data for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with California seeing the largest growth in the number of schools adopting CEP, followed by Florida and Washington. Nationally, 82% of eligible schools participate in CEP.

Read more: FRAC Report Reveals More High-Poverty Schools Providing Breakfast and Lunch at No Charge

 2.    College enrollment continued to drop this spring, analysis finds

Enrollment for most forms of postsecondary education in the United States continued to decline three years after nationwide lockdowns forced many students to temporarily continue their degrees online, according to a new analysis from the National Student Clearinghouse. Public four-year institutions saw a 0.8% enrollment decline as of spring 2023, a somewhat less severe decrease than the 1.2% decline recorded in 2022 but more pronounced than the 0.3% decline in 2021 and the 0.2% decline in 2020. Private four-year nonprofit institutions meanwhile witnessed a 1.0% decrease in 2023, compared to the 1.2% decrease in 2022, the 0.4% decrease in 2021, and the 0.6% decrease in 2020.

Related:5 tech things: Aramark launches biometric age verification at Major League ballpark

Read more: College Enrollment Keeps Sliding Even Three Years After Lockdowns

 3.    Tech companies slashing perks along with downsizing staff

Tech companies have long touted lavish office perks like on-site dry cleaning, ice-cream bars, and even paid egg-freezing services to recruit top talent and keep them happy, but an economic slowdown has driven many companies to slash jobs and benefits, as well as staff—the tech sector has cut roughly 200,000 jobs since the start of 2023, according to Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks the industry's job cuts. In this new era of austerity, few perks are safe from cuts—and some may never return. Tech companies, in particular, "are preparing for a prolonged period of slowing demand and capital investment, so they're looking at longer-term cuts to benefits," Aaron Terrazas, Glassdoor's chief economist, told Insider.

Related:5 things: Hospital’s garden helps to reduce staff food insecurity

Read more: Tech companies got rid of your free lunch. Now they're coming for your 401(k) and healthcare

 4.    Health system’s farms serve growing number of food-insecure families

Trinity Health Michigan is on a mission to build healthier communities, and they're starting from the ground up with two farms where they grow produce for patients and families. The staff at The Farm at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac say they're starting to see more and more families sign up since the end of pandemic emergency benefits. "Inflation is really starting to pinch people's budgets, and so we're happy to be able to be getting more food into clinics, be offering more farm-share assistance memberships," said Amanda Sweetman, Trinity Health Michigan regional director of farming and healthy lifestyles.

Read more: Trinity Health Michigan's hospital farms assist food insecure communities

 5.    London Major League games will include American-style ballpark food

Major League Baseball is set to return to London for the first time since 2019 when traditional rivals the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals square off in a two-game set on June 24-25. English fans attending the games will be treated to an entirely new ballpark food menu created by London Stadium’s foodservice partners Freemans Event Partners and Delaware North that features a range of classic American dishes and favorites from both St. Louis and Chicago, including the Boomstick Hot Dog and Boomstick Chili Nachos, each measuring two feet in length.

Read more: New all-American stadium menu created for return of Major League Baseball to London

Bonus: Dining hall cashier becomes special event chef at Franklin & Marshall College

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]