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

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.    Students don’t get enough time to eat lunch, teachers tell survey

As more schools aim to give students access to free breakfast and lunch, the vast majority of teachers warn their students don’t have enough time to actually eat their food. In a nationally representative survey this summer, more than 9 in 10 educators told the EdWeek Research Center that their students need at least a half-hour to eat but more than three-quarters of teachers said their students get less time, with 21% saying their students had less than 20 minutes for meals.

Read more: Teachers Say Students Don’t Have Enough Time to Eat Lunch. Here’s How to Change That

 2.    Elior acquires NYC private school dining firm

In its first acquisition in over five years, Elior North America has entered New York City’s private school dining market with the acquisition of Cater To You Food Service. Cater To You has been operating for 30 years in the market and currently numbers more than 20 clients. Founder Anthony Trentacosti and President Giuliette Trentacosti will continue to manage the business, which will join Elior NA’s Education segment.

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

Read more: Elior North America Expands Education Segment with New Acquisition

 3.    Ohio State replaces disposables with reusable to-go boxes

Ohio State University Dining Services has eliminated disposable to-go boxes at all three Traditions dining halls and replaced them with green, reusable plastic containers in an effort to reduce waste this semester. The system relies on Grubhub to assign each student a QR code, which coordinates with a box the student will then pick up from the dining hall to pack their food. 

Read more: Dining halls switch to reusable to-go boxes

 4.    School district told to halt alternative meals for students with unpaid meal debt

Deptford Township School District in South Jersey is no longer serving peanut butter and jelly or cheese sandwiches to students with unpaid cafeteria debts after the state said it violates the Student Bill of Rights Act and the Working Class Families Act. More than 750 students are hundreds of dollars in the hole with the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting the unpaid total for the district is $68,000.

Read more: Deptford schools ordered to stop serving skimpy lunches to students with unpaid cafeteria debts

 5.    Over 9,000 lobsters served at annual Boston University dinner event

Related:5 things: Lunchables debut in NSLP-compliant school meal programs

Keeping with a fun tradition, thousands of students enjoyed a nice lobster dinner together during Boston University’s annual Lobster Night inside all three Charles River Campus dining halls. The university was expected to serve up 9,075 steamed Atlantic lobsters from Cape Ann Lobstermen in Gloucester, along with 2,300 pounds of local corn, 2,300 pounds of local potatoes, 300 pounds of root vegetables, 200 pounds of squash, and 80,000 Maine blueberries for the special dessert—Maine blueberry maple cobbler.

Read more: Boston University serves up more than 9,000 lobsters during their annual fall culinary event

Bonus: 15 ways to make it rain meatballs

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]