K-12 Schools

Operations

Snack snapshot

Half of operators say fruit is the snack category (excluding vending) that has growth potential in the next two years. Second to fruit is the dips/salsa/hummus category, with 24% of operators saying this area will increase in sales.

Operations

Universities glom onto food trucks

Call them what you will: mobile canteens, lunch wagons, catering vans or even the pejorative “roach coaches.” Food trucks, once the “restaurant” of choice for employees outside of manufacturing plants, steel mills, military bases and more, are back.

Milk does a body good, and it also helps operators’ bottom line. Milk, at 18%, makes up the highest sales percentage of beverages for non-commercial operators, according to The Big Picture research.

Only 5% of operators have an on-site garden or farm for which the foodservice team is responsible. Most operators say they don’t have an on-site garden/farm and have no plans to start one.

As I write this, less than three weeks remain for operators to submit their entries to the third annual Goldies Awards. The awards, which celebrate best practices in non-commercial foodservice, will be presented Monday, March 4, during the 2013 MenuDirections conference in Tampa, Fla.

Parents complain that students are still hungry after lunch.

School honored for innovation with its snack pack breakfast program.

Topping bars and grilled vegetables tempt students.

According to The Big Picture research, 71% of operators have an employee wellness program and a great majority of them say they believe the wellness programs are working. Offering everything from nutrition guidance to smoking cessation classes and even sleep-well clinics, such programs are geared toward stemming rising healthcare costs.

School recognized as part of state's Stepping Up to the Challenge, Creating A Healthy School Environment program.

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