Foodservice Director News
Every story we have published for foodservice directors, newest first: 102 items from K-12, college, healthcare, senior living, B&I and venue operations, each with a plain-language note on why it matters and a link to the original source.
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Breakfast participation: New Jersey bill would make school breakfast free for all
New Jersey's A5658 would require every public school to serve free breakfast to all students each day. The bill is with the Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee, and a companion bill has been introduced in the state Senate. FoodService Director notes Pennsylvania served 92.3 million school breakfasts last year, up more than 10 million meals (13%) since 2022-23, the last year before its universal breakfast program. North Dakota voters also decide a universal free school meals measure next week.
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A $2-plus-canned-goods breakfast week restocks a community college food pantry
A weeklong breakfast promotion at Northeast State Community College served 46 meals and collected 130 canned goods plus $92. After regional flooding, Metz chef manager Brandy Pitzer's team ran "2+2=Good 4 You" Sept. 17-25 at the Bear Cafe: two canned goods and $2 bought two pancakes, two sausage links and two eggs. Donations also included rice, oats and macaroni and cheese; the event returns in spring.
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AASA survey: 40% of district leaders tap other budgets to pay for school meals
In an AASA survey of 423 district leaders, 40% said they cut instructional materials or tutoring spending, or used rainy day funds, to pay for school meals. 44% of superintendents said they lack the facilities to cook every meal from scratch, and more than 1 in 3 named student participation as their biggest operational challenge. AASA's Tara Thomas said reimbursement should cover food, equipment, labor and supplies.
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Healthier hospital food without pushback: Corewell's 'stealth health' approach
Over five years, Michigan's Corewell Health has added fresh whole foods, adjusted cooking methods and set up cafeterias so healthier options are seen first. Corporate Executive Chef Mick Rickerd calls it "stealth health": burgers may be blended with plant protein, fries are made with non-trans-fat oils, and a lentil bolognese is 50% lentils. Rickerd said the system is working to eliminate fryers and keep food affordably priced. Twenty-one Corewell facilities are among the nearly 300 hospitals that have taken HHS's Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge.
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Iowa Team Nutrition offers $5,000-$14,500 subgrants for middle school and afterschool nutrition
Iowa schools in the National School Lunch Program can apply for Team Nutrition subgrants of $5,000-$14,500, with proposals due December 3. The USDA-funded grants target middle school and afterschool students, supporting nutrition lessons, taste tests, staff training and more fresh fruits, vegetables and scratch-made items. Priority goes to schools taking on multiple components, committing to at least five lessons, or with over 50% free or reduced-price eligibility.
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Michigan breakfast pilot cuts added sugar 8-9 grams per meal ahead of 2027-28 limits
In a sponsored FSD article, the National Dairy Council reports its SMART SWAPS breakfast pilot cut roughly 8-9 grams of added sugar per breakfast. The 2025-26 pilot with Chartwells K-12 ran in 22 kitchens serving 14,380 students in Michigan's Rochester Community School District; flavored milk stayed on the menu and protein selection rose 13.2%. Average daily participation dipped at first, then stabilized.
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More than 250 hospitals sign HHS's Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge
More than 250 hospitals have signed HHS's voluntary Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge, part of the MAHA agenda. Signers commit to align foodservice with the Dietary Guidelines where clinically appropriate and feasible, including limiting ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages, prioritizing minimally processed proteins, produce and whole grains, and baking, roasting or grilling instead of deep frying. HHS also unveiled a badge for participating hospitals.
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Surplus food and student hunger: USC's three-part recovery network
The University of South Carolina recovers surplus food through three programs, each matched to where the food comes from. They're run by Carolina Food Co., operated by Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, with campus partners. Garnet Bites alerts more than 2,500 subscribers when catering leftovers are ready and has supported more than 190 events. Feed the Flock has made about 5,000 ready-to-eat meals from surplus and diverted more than 7,500 pounds of food. Food Recovery Network student volunteers have recovered about 12,000 pounds since spring 2025.
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Using AI to find menu gaps: USC adds five-week cycle, lifts plant-based to 18%
USC Campus Dining introduced a five-week menu cycle shared across its three residential dining halls, spread plant-based dishes through every serving line after a dedicated station went underused, and is cutting added salt and sugar. Executive chef Edward Rodriguez told the Daily Trojan that plant-based items now make up about 18% of food production, up from about 7%, and that the team uses an AI tool, alongside dietitians, to spot gaps in cuisine diversity and dietary options. About 20 Jain recipes are in development for next year.
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Finding a better-value contract: Faribault schools switch for scratch-made meals
Faribault Public Schools (Minn.) picked Taher, Inc. over four other qualified vendors for its new food service contract. Finance director Barbie Roessler said Taher was the most reasonably priced and committed to scratch-made food. Six weeks in, staff say kids are finishing their meals, and the team is swapping out less popular items school by school. Minnesota already provides free school meals.
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Low breakfast participation: Massachusetts sets a 60% target for schools
Massachusetts launched a Strengthening School Breakfast Challenge on Oct. 23, urging schools to reach at least 60% breakfast participation by serving breakfast at main entrances, offering a second chance to eat later in the morning and promoting it to families. The state says that in fall 2025 about 291,792 students ate school breakfast each day, compared with 588,654 at lunch, even though meals are free for all students. Salem Public Schools' superintendent says moving breakfast into the classroom at one elementary school raised participation from 42% to 90%. Project Bread, New England Dairy and the Eos Foundation are offering technical help, and Eos offers grants of up to $20,000 per school for Breakfast in the Classroom.
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Students skipping meals for religious reasons: Kent adds certified halal
Kent School District has become the first district in Washington to serve certified halal meals, according to education advocacy nonprofit OneAmerica, which announced it on Oct. 22. The change will reach hundreds of students, and community members had been advocating for it since December 2025. Kent High School freshman Safa Malekzai said it feels 'absolutely amazing' to see meals that fit her life and culture, and Spencer Pan, the district's executive director of technology and partnerships, called it a win for all students.
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High turnover: an Air Force dining team trains new cooks with station maps and peer coaching
The Aramark Salute Hospitality team at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas feeds 700 to 800 customers a day while training airmen who may arrive with no culinary experience. Executive Chef Bradley Myers starts from each airman's strengths, begins with safety training and a customer service program, then replaces recipe binders with station maps and step-by-step mise en place lists. Experienced airmen coach newer ones. General Manager Carlos Chavez estimates the team has been "probably 95% different people every time we've competed," yet it won the 2026 John L. Hennessy Trophy as the top dining facility in Air Force Region 1 among 34 installations.
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Hospital retail hours: a volunteer-run coffee shop moves to nutrition services, open 7 days
Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass., reopened its renovated coffee shop with expanded hours, now 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. The shop, long supported by the volunteer Friends of Cooley Dickinson, is now managed by the hospital's Nutrition Services team, which kept staff who had volunteered there and is adding staff to cover the longer hours. The new menu adds breakfast and lunch sandwiches, individual pizzas, grilled items, salads and grab-and-go options, with gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan choices.
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Labor and AI: most hourly food workers are open to AI for scheduling and shift notes
A Toast survey of more than 700 restaurant workers found 77% are at least somewhat open to AI at work (20% extremely, 30% very, 27% somewhat), while 22% are not very or not at all open. 54% are extremely or very open to AI for end-of-shift summaries and automated scheduling. Poor hourly pay was the top reason workers would leave (31%), followed by a difficult manager (26%), and 27% said connecting with customers is a top-three part of the job.
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Late-night access: a university opens a 24/7 checkout-free market in its student union
Christopher Newport University in Virginia opened The HELM (Healthy Essentials Living Market), a cashless, checkout-free market on the ground floor of the David Student Union that is open 24/7. After 8 p.m., entry requires a campus ID swipe. Shoppers tap a credit card or use Captains Cash through the Transact Mobile Ordering app, and a $25 hold is placed. Students helped build the inventory list.
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Local buying without the paperwork: a state turns USDA Foods tomatoes into school sauces
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Food Distribution Program launched two local food programs for schools this October with distributor Gold Star Foods. In one, Massachusetts manufacturer CommonWealth Kitchen turns USDA Direct Delivery diced tomatoes into marinara and tikka masala sauces for school meals; the other brings dried cranberries made from Massachusetts-grown fruit. The state program handles sourcing, procurement and distribution for districts, which it says reduces the procurement burden that often keeps districts from buying local.
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Local sourcing: an Alabama district put 1.2 million servings of state-grown food on trays
Elmore County Public Schools in Alabama bought more than 1.2 million servings of Alabama-grown products directly from farmers last fiscal year, from hydroponic lettuce and collard greens to sweet potatoes, shrimp, grits and pecans, according to Child Nutrition Director Cacyce Davis. The district recently won a $500,000 USDA Farm to School Grant to expand its capacity to process and preserve local products, and it led Alabama's Farm to School Incentive Program in participation in 2024-25. USDA and state agriculture officials visited on Oct. 19 for a Farm to School Month lunch.
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Low-labor retail: a student-requested soda shop that turns a profit
West Virginia University opened Take Me Home Soda Shoppe and Creamery in its student union this semester after meetings with students and the WVU Student Government Association. The shop, run by Elior Collegiate Dining's WVU Hospitality Group, serves customizable 'dirty sodas' and six flavors of ice cream from a local shop in Buckhannon, W.Va., and is adding limited-time items such as a Halloween pumpkin ice cream and a planned holiday soda. Retail Director Kylie Harrison told FoodService Director the concept is profitable and doesn't carry much food or labor cost.
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Student satisfaction: a 50-campus study finds consistency matters more than more choices
Chartwells Higher Education's Campus Voices report draws on more than 2,000 students in 300 focus groups across 50 campuses. Its five themes: choice without confidence isn't really choice, so consistency and reliability matter more than the number of options; customization builds trust; value means an experience, such as balanced sides, fresh produce and meal bundles, not just price; traditional mealtimes are giving way to snacking and mobile pickup; and the more digital dining becomes, the more human connection matters. Students also judge global flavors on authenticity and want high-protein, minimally processed meals.
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TikTok's charcuterie dip turns a cheese board into a no-cook, scoopable snack
Food & Wine reports that "charcuterie dip" started trending on social media late last year and has grown increasingly popular throughout 2026. Cheese, cured meat and a fresh element such as olives or pepperoncini are chopped into half-inch pieces, tossed with olive oil and a little balsamic, and served with pita chips or crostini. Roasted red peppers or artichoke hearts suit a vegetarian version.
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A new benchmark for hospital food: Tampa General earns first Joint Commission CHEF recognition
Tampa General Hospital is the first organization recognized under the Joint Commission's new Commitment to Healthy and Enticing Food (CHEF) program, which honors care settings that build healthy, appealing, clinically appropriate food into operations. TGH's Mediterranean-inspired patient menu was developed with chef Geoffrey Zakarian and emphasizes whole foods, organic and local produce, and no processed foods or added artificial sweeteners.
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Food waste: AI data helps Harvard dining cut waste per meal 31% with a shorter menu cycle
Harvard University Dining Services has fully rolled out Winnow, an AI system that weighs and photographs food scraps and identifies items from the weekly menus, across all residential dining halls and Annenberg after a pilot last fall. Per Winnow's report, the system had helped cut 23,500 pounds of food waste as of September. Using the data, chefs moved eggs to smaller batches (daily egg waste fell from 11.5 to 3.1 pounds), and HUDS shortened its menu from a four-week to a three-week cycle, after which average waste per meal fell 31%, from 2.12 to 1.46 ounces per swipe, according to Winnow's report.
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Kitchen equipment grants: Arkansas offers $564K in school kitchen equipment grants, due Nov. 6 and Nov. 20
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture announced more than $564,267 in grants for schools in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs to buy equipment that improves food preparation, storage, transportation and service and uses more Arkansas-grown products. Eligible items include blenders and freezers for smoothies, ovens, warmers and rice cookers for breakfast bowls, and refrigerated storage and cold-holding units for fresh produce. Breakfast Equipment Expansion Grant applications are due Nov. 6, 2026, and USDA Equipment Assistance Grant applications are due Nov. 20, 2026.
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