The CDC has updated its guidance for reopening restaurants and bars amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidelines include promoting behaviors that reduce spread, maintaining healthy environments, maintaining healthy operations, and preparing for sick employees. “Restaurants and bars can determine, in collaboration with state and local health officials, whether and how to implement these considerations, making adjustmentsRead More
U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods have significantly outpaced total food sales during the pandemic, according to research from Spins, in partnership with the Plant Based Foods Association. Plant-based food sales were up 90 percent in the 16 weeks ending April 19, compared to the year prior. In addition, in the four weeks following peakRead More
Today, the James Beard Foundation held its media awards under quarantine. Presumably, champagne will be drunk, suits will be worn to the living-room galas, and medals will eventually be shared via social media. Among the morning’s winners are are Toni Tipton-Martin for her seminal Jubilee: Re… More »
A task force created by the Upcycled Food Association has set a definition for upcycled food, which will help companies identify their ingredients as helping to reduce food waste. The task force includes researchers from Harvard University, Drexel University, nonprofits ReFED, Natural Resources Defense Council, World Wildlife Fund, and more. Per the group, “Upcycled foods useRead More
A new initiative, SaveTheEats, is working to support restaurants that are struggling or have closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. SaveTheEats offers deals on food, gift cards, and experiences like a pasta making class in New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Minneapolis-St. Paul, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Austin. Each city has its own dedicated page where customers can goRead More
To-go cocktails are now legal in Pennsylvania after Governor Tom Wolf signed legislation into law temporarily relaxing the state’s liquor laws, reports Eater. Now, restaurants, bars, and hotels that hold R or H liquor licenses, lost more than 25 percent of average monthly sales, and also sell prepared meals for takeout can sell mixed drinksRead More
Thirty-one Maine culinary business owners sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) asking the government to suspend food-related tariffs, reports the Portland Press Herald. “In the months leading up to the coronavirus crisis, we did everything in our power not to pass along the extra costs of these duties to consumers,” said theRead More
The USDA and the FDA have created a Memorandum of Understanding to help prevent interruptions at FDA-regulated food facilities, including fruit and vegetable processing. The MOU creates a process for the two agencies to determine which circumstances the USDA could exercise its authority under the Defense Production Act with domestic food resource facilities that manufacture,Read More
John S. Phillips, senior vice president, customer supply chain and go-to-market at PepsiCo, Inc.; Randall J. Skoda, president and CEO of Topco Associates LLC; and Steve Breen, senior vice president, enterprise inventory optimization, Walmart have been appointed to the Board of Governors of GS1, a nonprofit that facilitates industry collaboration to help improve supply chainRead More
Chipotle Mexican Grill has revealed the second class of ventures for its Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0, an accelerator program designed to support growth-stage ventures who are working to address problems facing today’s young farmers. The seven-month, annual accelerator program will connect ventures to the people and organizations they need in order to scale their solutions includingRead More
