5 things: NYC Schools shut down in-person classes

Each Friday Food Management compiles a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the onsite foodservice news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of November 16:

New York City Schools is temporarily closing all school sites for in-person learning after the city neared a seven-day average COVID positivity rate of 3%, the threshold agreed upon with teacher unions to trigger such a move. New York had been one of a handful of big-city school districts to offer in-person classes this fall.

Read more: New York City to Close Schools for In-Person Learning

The University of California at San Diego plans to open six new restaurants in its rapidly growing North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood next fall. They will include Tahini with its Middle Eastern street food selections; Fan-Fan, which serves authentic flavors from China’s Hunan province; Shōwa Ramen, offering modern interpretations of classic Japanese dishes; and Plant Power, providing healthy and environmentally-conscious interpretations of fast-food classics.

Read more: 6 New Restaurants to Open on UCSD Campus in 2021

Related:5 coronavirus things: Aramark revenue down 21% in FY2020

A 26-year-old man has filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Clark County Jail in Washington, alleging that it denied him gluten-free meals while he was incarcerated, leading to malnutrition that ended up with him getting hospitalized. Gaven Picciano claims he has celiac disease and can’t eat food with gluten because it affects his health but the jail didn’t provide him with “adequate food that was safe for him to eat” for 22 days and for the first nine days he was detained, he “had virtually no access to food at all.”

Read more: Man malnourished after jail didn’t give him gluten-free food, Washington lawsuit says

The student union at Oxford University in England has voted to ban beef and lamb from the school’s dining halls as a measure to combat climate change. While the decision is ultimately up to the university, the vote does mean the student union will exert pressure on Oxford authorities to put the ban into effect.

Read more: Oxford Students Fight Climate Crisis by Banning Meat From Dining Halls

The Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C. is distributing pre-packaged Thanksgiving dinner meal kits to veterans in need this year thanks to donations from a number of area non-profits and social service organizations. Veterans are asked to pre-register and to see if they qualify and must bring a VA or Military ID with them when picking up the food

Related:5 coronavirus things: World Bank foodservice staff cuts protested

Read more: Charleston VA hospital distributing free Thanksgiving dinner meal kits to veterans

Bonus: 14 smart ways to help food service customers smash their wellness goals

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]