Foodservice Director News: Page 3
Older foodservice director news, page 3 of 5. Back to the latest news.
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Cook call-outs and veggie requirements: a district freeze-dries local produce
Alaska's Southwest Region School District used a Local Foods for Schools grant to freeze-dry more than 2,300 pounds of local potatoes and carrots, a two-person project that ran from May to August at about 50 pounds per 36-hour cycle. About 300 pounds of carrots became seasoned chips made to meet sodium limits. Food service manager Jania Stephen wrote in the state's October bulletin that the shelf-stable vegetables help remote sites meet the red/orange vegetable requirement even when a cook calls out.
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Dining labor costs: Hofstra workers ratify a three-year contract with record raises
About 120 food service workers at Hofstra University, represented by Local 1102 RWDSU/UFCW, voted unanimously to ratify a new three-year contract with the campus dining provider. The union says it includes the largest wage increases ever negotiated for the unit, higher 401(k) contributions, reporting-pay guarantees and expanded new-hire orientation language.
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Dye bans: FDA's tracker shows which school suppliers pledged to drop synthetic dyes
FDA updated its tracker of food industry pledges to remove petroleum-based dyes on Oct. 16. Several makers and trade groups list K-12-specific commitments, including the American Bakers Association, Consumer Brands Association, IDFA, Kellanova, Conagra, J.M. Smucker and WK Kellogg, most aimed at the 2026-27 school year; Aramark Student Nutrition is listed as complete for its core school menus. FDA is pushing industry to drop six remaining certified colors by the end of 2027, and Red No. 3's revocation takes effect Jan. 15, 2027.
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Meal plan overhaul: Gustavus approves all-you-care-to-eat despite student opposition
Gustavus Adolphus College's board approved a 2027-28 budget on Oct. 9 that moves dining from an à la carte system to an all-you-care-to-eat, swipe-based meal plan in fall 2027, despite a unanimous Student Senate resolution asking for more time and input. In a Student Senate survey of 690 students, 69.3% favored keeping the current system and 13.1% favored the switch, and student leaders said the administration had misstated earlier survey data. An external consultant recommended the change; dining leaders say a new POS system, staffing, menus and purchasing still have to be worked out.
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Meal plan value: Rutgers-Camden's swipe rollover skips its priciest plan
Rutgers University-Camden now lets unused swipes carry from fall to spring on its block plans, but students on the Weekly 14 plan, the most expensive at $5,200 a year, are excluded because their meals reset weekly. The student paper reports the plan's price rose 4% in a year, and one student says she uses about five of her 14 weekly meals; switching plans required an email to Dining Services by Sept. 4.
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October cost check: potatoes and tomatoes up, daily prime cost in focus
MarginEdge's October report says operator food costs averaged 29% of sales in September, with potato and tomato prices rising sharply. It recommends checking prime cost daily and planning ahead for holiday catering demand.
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Playbook: a Kansas hospital turns excess inventory into affordable packaged meals
Memorial Hospital's Food and Nutrition Services department in Abilene, Kan., won a $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Dickinson County to fund equipment, planning and education for a new Packaged Meal Program. The program will turn excess food inventory into packaged meals for community members facing food insecurity or anyone wanting a budget-friendly meal.
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School meal deficits: coalition urges USDA to release Section 32 funds
A coalition of school nutrition, education, anti-hunger, health and agriculture groups sent a sign-on letter on Oct. 16 asking USDA and OMB to immediately release Section 32 funds in child nutrition accounts as emergency relief. The letter cites USDA research showing school meal revenues covered only 81% of program expenses on average and that 35% of programs ran a deficit in SY 2023-24, nearly double the share two years earlier.
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Short breakfast window: a grab-and-go switch took one school from 3% to 31%
When a bus schedule change left Kodiak Middle School students about 10 minutes before class instead of 20, Alaska's Kodiak Island Borough School District replaced its breakfast line with grab-and-go items near the student entrance, such as mini waffles, shelf-stable yogurt and bagels with cheese. Daily breakfast counts jumped from 11 to 127 students (2.76% to 31.28%) in the first week, according to nutrition director Jerilyn Urban in the state's October school meals bulletin. The district also added three schools to the Community Eligibility Provision and started a five-student food council per school that runs taste tests and brought back strawberry milk. Its goals are 60% breakfast and 50% lunch participation.
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Sustainable sourcing in hospitals: UC Davis Health lifts local and sustainable share to 41%
Food and Nutrition Services at UC Davis Health received a Snail of Approval from Slow Food's Sacramento chapter, which evaluates sourcing, environmental impact, cultural connection, community involvement, staff support and business values. The medical center produces more than 6,500 meals a day and has raised its use of local and sustainable ingredients from 16% to 41% over the past decade; it is the fourth U.S. hospital to receive the award.
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Back-office labor: how one restaurant chain put its own AI agent to work
Restaurant Business reports that 86-unit fast-casual chain Pokeworks spent 2025 consolidating data from its systems into one central database, then built an AI agent, Pokebot, early this year. Staff ask it for reports, including whether restaurants are using labor efficiently based on sales; it now handles tasks such as accounting, and the people who did that work were reassigned, including to checking its output. Company-store employees use a phone app that builds a prioritized daily task list. The founders say automated sourcing and labor forecasting are saving percentage points on food and labor costs but gave no figures, and they don't plan to add headquarters staff (about 40 people) as the chain grows.
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College students are redefining breakfast, says a campus culinary lead
Chartwells Higher Ed's Joe Labombarda says college students are embracing global flavors, protein and fiber-rich foods at breakfast.
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Feeding night shifts: robotic hot-meal kiosks reach a hospital and a nursing home
New York-based Primepick is bringing its MealMate unattended kiosk, which serves hot dishes in five to seven minutes, to a hospital and a nursing home in the Tri-State area, its fourth and fifth sites, and is preparing deployments in Huntsville, Chicago and Dallas. Units hold 90 to 285 meals, use robotic arms and microwave ovens, keep pre-ordered meals warm for 30 minutes and list allergens and nutrition facts for every item. Earlier sites include manufacturing plants and Molloy University.
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Food costs: wholesale prices rose 0.6% in September, led by produce and seafood
The National Restaurant Association reports the Producer Price Index for all foods rose 0.6% from August to September after two monthly declines, driven by fresh vegetables (+36.9%), fresh fruit, seafood, beef and veal (+2.6%) and wheat flour. Prices were still 2.6% below September 2025 but 34% above February 2020. Year over year, fresh vegetables (+17.8%), fats and oils, flour and fruit were up, while eggs (-75.3%), butter, pork, processed poultry and cheese were down.
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Kitchen turnover: a Maine district writes down recipes and procedures
Maine's RSU 73 (Spruce Mountain schools) is developing standardized recipes after the departure of employees who previously prepared meals, food service director Sharon Searles told the board Oct. 8. Written job procedures are now posted in every district kitchen so staff filling in for absent coworkers can follow set routines, staff evaluations are starting, and the district is working to replace a kitchen manager who left for another job. Two of its schools did not qualify for the federal Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program this year.
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Menu planning and labor scheduling: how one contract operator says it uses AI
Aramark, named to Fortune's 2026 AIQ 75 list, described three AI tools in use. Culinary Co-Pilot helps chefs plan menus around local tastes, nutrition, allergens and client rules, with operators reporting up to 30% less time spent planning menus; Labor Insights helps frontline managers staff the right level at the right time; and its Mosaic supply chain platform informs more than $20 billion in annual purchases. The company says it has had an AI Risk Governance Committee since 2023.
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Ricoh to deploy and service Hyphen's robotic makeline
Ricoh USA will support deployment and ongoing service of Hyphen's automated makeline through its RICOH Service Advantage program. Hyphen says the makeline produces more than 200 meals an hour from digital orders.
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Scratch-cooking skills gap: a director and a cook train together in a national cohort
Walla Walla Public Schools is one of 25 districts in the Chef Ann Foundation's first Starting From Scratch cohort, spanning 17 states and 271,000+ students. Nutrition Services Director Kara Carlson and Sharpstein Elementary cook Andrea Goff will attend a four-day intensive in Boulder, Colorado. The training covers scaling scratch recipes while managing food and labor costs, procurement, staffing, kitchen capacity and student acceptance. The district will then build a scratch-cooking roadmap and get a year of mentoring. Its schools now offer scratch-cooked options two to three days a week.
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Swyft rebrands as Mercury and targets hospitals and campuses with automated stores
Swyft is now Mercury Automated Retail Solutions. It operates more than 100 automated stores in over 20 airports and is targeting healthcare and higher education next. The model bundles equipment, merchandising, replenishment and analytics.
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365 Retail Markets and ColdSnap bring pod-based frozen treats to micro markets
A multiyear deal makes ColdSnap machines, which turn shelf-stable pods into ice cream, smoothies and protein shakes in about two minutes, available through 365's operator network for workplaces, hospitals and campuses. The machines need no freezer storage, plumbing or cleaning.
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California makes its Farm to School funding permanent
California has made its Farm to School grant program permanent, with $24.6 million in next year's budget and 16 regional navigators who help schools find local crops. The program reaches 49% of the state's public school students, and an evaluation flags kitchen capacity and staffing as limits on growth.
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Fiber is the next protein: social mentions up 66% as hearty, savory dishes drive interest
Fiber mentions on social media rose 66% and engagement more than doubled to 5.4 million, per Datassential's Social Listening Quarterly report. Protein still leads, with mentions up 57% and chain launches carrying protein callouts up 245% in the first half of 2026. Fiber's growth comes from hearty, center-of-plate cooking such as savory oatmeal and cabbage stir fries, not health-food framing, and Datassential says better menu labeling and callouts could connect diners to fiber-rich items.
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How AI could change the business of running senior living dining
A McKnight's Senior Living column looks at where AI could reshape senior living dining operations, from forecasting and purchasing to personalizing resident menus.
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New Mexico's scratch-cooking mandate is stretching school kitchen crews
Under a state law requiring at least half of school meals to be made from scratch, Albuquerque Public Schools reports per-meal food costs up 25% to 40%. The union representing cafeteria staff says mostly part-time workers are overwhelmed by scratch prep in short shifts.
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