Experiential Brands goes to college and more news you may have missed

Check out some foodservice news you may have missed this week, including restaurant group Experiential Brands opening a handful of its concepts on college campuses and more.

Experiential Brands which owns casual restaurant concepts, The Original Hot Chicken, Flametown Burgers, INKED Tacos, and Pinsa Roman Pizza is going to college. The restaurant group is opening locations at Auburn University, East Carolina University and the University of Tennessee.

“Tiger Dining is always working to elevate Auburn Student’s dining experience. When presented with the opportunity to partner with Experiential Brands, we were impressed by their broad portfolio and how easily they could adapt to our needs,” said Glenn Loughridge, director of dining and concessions at Auburn, in a statement. “They have fresh concepts that resonate with our student demographic and bring unique flavors that add variety to the dining options at the Melton Student Center.”

Read the full story via Restaurant News.

A bill that was introduced in the U.S. House would provide students nationwide with free breakfast, lunch and dinner each day at school.

Introduced by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), The Universal School Meals Program Act  would also prevent schools from denying students hot meals and would also increase the meal reimbursement rate to $2.80 for breakfast and $4.63 for lunch and dinner.

In addition, school nutrition programs that source at least 25% of their food locally (defined as food produced within state lines or within 250 miles of the purchasing School Food Authority) would also receive an additional meal reimbursement of up to $0.30 per meal.

Read the full story via FoodService Director.

UConn Health in Farmington, Connecticut is serving Hispanic dishes in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month which runs from September 15 through October 15.

Each week, diners at the hospital cafe can enjoy special menus created by UConn health staff. Many of the featured dishes are family recipes and include Pollo Guisado, Beef Empanadillas, Arroz con Gandules and more.

Read the full story via UConn Today.

Hospital staff and visitors at UChicago Medicine in Chicago have a new food hall to dine at. The new eatery, located in the Center for Care and Discovery (CCD) building will celebrate its grand opening later this month. The new space will host three new concepts: Sip of Hope Coffee, Burrito Beach and Root & Sprig.

Read the full story via Chicago Food Magazine.

Students at Sonora Elementary School in Sonora, California were treated to a farmers market this month. The students were given metal token coins that they could use to “purchase” different types of fruit, including grapes and peaches.

The school hosted the market in partnership with Tyson Hill Farm who supplied the produce. Tyson Hill Farmer Josh Tyson also spoke to students about the different types of food the farm grows.

Read the full story via The Union Democrat.