School will soon be out for the summer, leaving many children without free or reduced-price meals they depend on for adequate nutrition. Families often turn to summer food programs for help. I interviewed Crystal FitzSimons, director of school and out-of-school time programs for the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center, about the success of the Agriculture Department’s Summer Food Service Program and challenges it faces during uncertain economic times.
How widespread are summer nutrition programs?
Nationally, 2.8 million low-income children participated in the summer nutrition programs in July 2010, [according to the] most recent published data. FRAC looks at the number of low-income children who receive free or reduced-price lunch during the regular school year as an indicator of the need for summer meals. Only 15 children for every 100 low-income children who relied on school lunch during the school year had access to meals through the summer nutrition programs. (read more…)
When I lived in Tampa, Fla., in the 1980s and ’90s, Bern’s Steak House was the place everyone mentioned when talking about high-end steakhouses, and that apparently hasn’t changed since I moved away. But something else has, as the Tampa Bay Times reported. Founder Bern Laxer got into organic farming during the 1970s, and much of what he grew on his 7-acre farm wound up on the restaurant’s menu. But that’s been changing under the leadership of Laxer’s son David, who wants to turn the now-fallow farm into a soccer complex and begin farming a smaller piece of land. Meanwhile, the eatery’s marketing still emphasizes local and organic, despite the fact that these days, the lion’s share of produce is sourced through large distributors and only about 20% is organic. David Laxer told the Times that the eatery will shift its message once the new farm is established.
Though “local” and “organic” have been hot restaurant trends for at least the past two years, Bern’s isn’t the only eatery that seems to be putting locally sourced and organic ingredients lower on the priority list. (read more…)
This series is sponsored by the Can Manufacturers Institute, where gray is the new green. Want to know the reason? Download our sustainability paper to learn more about how cans stand alone as the sustainable solution for 21st-century packaging. Pass it on. CanCentral.com/sustainability.
Modern technology makes it possible for beverage companies to get pretty creative when it comes to the designs on their cans, and few companies have taken advantage of that ability as much as AriZona Beverage. Even if you’ve never tasted the teas and other soft drinks inside, it’s hard to miss the distinctive, colorful art that decorates the brand’s oversize cans and bottles.
Global Communications Director Jackie Harrigan got a chance to share some of the company’s newest flavors and designs at the recent National Restaurant Association show in Chicago. She took some time to speak to SmartBrief about the brand and its packaging.
AriZona is sold in cans and bottles. (read more…)
Restaurants have been moving forward with efforts to make meals healthier and provide guests with the nutritional information they need to make better food choices, despite the Food and Drug Administration’s ongoing delay in issuing final rules on exactly what nutrition information chains with 20 or more locations will need to put on their menus.
“Implementation of this portion of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 is now officially one year overdue, and may be another six months out,” wrote MenuTrinfo’s Betsy Craig in a QSRWeb blog post this week that detailed the delays, which most recently center on the debate over whether convenience stores should be held to the same standards as restaurant chains.
The post was one of several recent pieces that focused on restaurants, healthy dining and America’s obesity problem, including a Rand Corp. report that analyzed nutrition information at 245 restaurants from the top 400 U.S. chains. (read more…)
It seems as though a social network emerges every week. This can leave business owners wondering which one is best for elevating their business.
Many business owners are asking whether they should stay dedicated to Facebook or focus more on Pinterest. It can get overwhelming and frustrating for business owners who don’t have time to manage even one social network — let alone eight. Based on my experience and research, business owners fall into one of the following categories.
- Build it, and I’m with it. These business owners hop on every social platform that pops up — not because they want to but because they think they need to. They think their business or brand is not relevant if it’s not classified as socially enabled. This mindset could harm a brand by spreading it too thin across social networks. Without manpower, resources and time to manage it, the social media presence of a brand suffers.
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