5 things: Salt Lake Schools asks businesses to help serve school lunch

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:

Since the pandemic began, University of Minnesota students and administration have seen a worker shortage in residential dining halls. In this podcast, staff members discuss the effects of the shortage on student workers and administrative hiring efforts.

Read more: Episode 93: How the worker shortage affects M Dining

The Salt Lake City School District is currently understaffed by at least 30%, so it's asking businesses to “Adopt a School” by helping out to serve lunch in its cafeteria. The Director for Salt Lake Education Foundation James Yapias says the district has also had to make adjustments like offering less food options, operating fewer serving lines and shifting employees between schools to deal with short staffing.

Read more: Staffing shortages force SLC School District to ask for help in cafeteria

Central Michigan University (CMU) plans to close its Larzelere, Robinson, Calkins and Trout residence halls in its North Community sector for fall 2022 in order to improve service offered in its dining units and expand hours for meals. “We can meet student needs by expanding housing options on the south of campus and reopening Troutman, Wheeler, and Kulhavi halls in the Towers,” the university said. "These changes will enable CMU to provide higher service and support to students by streamlining operations."

Related:5 tech things: Voice ordering tech growing despite customer hesitancy

Read more: CMU to close North Community to improve dining services

Sodexo Live! has been selected to provide all food services to the Olympic Village during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will provide up to 40,000 daily meals for the 14,850 athletes of the 388 Olympic and Paralympic delegations taking part in the competition and will also be responsible for providing food services to the general public at 12 competition sites.

Read more: Sodexo Live! partners with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Although the doors have yet to open at Western Michigan University’s new student center, design renderings of the facility still under construction allow the university to offer a virtual tour of what is to come. Set to open its doors later this year, the three-story building will include a dining center featuring eight micro-restaurants with cuisines ranging from traditional to international selections as well as a Starbucks location, personal pizzas from Mi Pi, the Latin restaurant Fuego Verde and Re-Fresh Market for on-the-go options. The center will also include the campus bookstore, a bank branch, a FedEx print and ship store, the admissions welcome center, a commuter resource center, a parents’ room, game room, 12 meeting rooms, a student art gallery, seven lounge spaces and a meditation room.

Related:5 things: Google says it’s reduced food waste just by using different bowls

Read more: Take a visual tour of the new $99M student center at Western Michigan University, ahead of fall opening

Bonus: 8 traditional and not-so-traditional ways to tango with Cuban food

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]