Food Service

Purim - Thrive-cover
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events Religious Dietary Practices February 21, 2018

Purim: Fasting, Foods, & Fun Festivities

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events Religious Dietary Practices February 21, 2018

Jewish people around the world will be joining in on colorful celebrations, delicious food traditions, and joyous commemorations. This year, Purim will begin the evening of Wednesday, February 28th and end the evening of Thursday march 1, 2018. Like many religious observances, this holy day has a many beautiful traditions, including dietary practices. What Purim Celebrates The holiday is a celebration based on a story in the Book of Esther. A young woman named Esther was the wife of King Ahasuerus of Persia. The King’s advisor, Haman, persuaded him to kill all the Jews in the empire, but Esther’s cousin…

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Food for Everyone Thrive!
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events February 7, 2018

Food For Everyone: Feasts & Fasts

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events February 7, 2018

Those with dietary restrictions shouldn’t have to fast because they fear the feast. In other words, our employees, attendees, and colleagues shouldn’t have to skip meals or pack they’re own food, when they’ve paid for the banquet, the meal plan, or the cafeteria pass. If food is going to be available to groups of people, then courtesy, professionalism, and the law dictate that there be food for everyone in that group. This year, commit to a new take on menu management by resolving to accommodate dietary restrictions for all your guests.  Inclusion Inclusion looses all meaning when it isn’t … inclusive. We want…

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Thrive February religious dietary restrictions calendar
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events Religious Dietary Practices January 31, 2018

Religious Dietary Restrictions Calendar: February 2019

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events Religious Dietary Practices January 31, 2018

It can be tough to keep up with the dietary restrictions of our attendees and employees. Knowing the holy days that are coming up can take effort because dates change each year and not all of them are included in the standard desk or Google calendar. On top of that, it’s hard to know which religious days are observed with dietary restrictions and what those accommodations would look like on a menu. A religious dietary restrictions calendar is exactly what’s needed. Even though our attendees and employees may not list their religious dietary restrictions and may not provide a handy…

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National Soy Foods Month
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events April 14, 2017

National Soy Foods Month – Get to Know the New Soy!

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events April 14, 2017

National Soy Foods Month – Celebrate! It’s National Soy Foods Month (#SoyFoodMonth)It is important first to note that soy is one of the “Big Eight” allergens, that group of food allergens that causes over 90% of allergic reactions in people with food allergies. While soy is a big eight allergen and should be taken seriously, statistics suggest that soy may not be as equally dangerous or consequential as other allergens, such as milk, which accounts for 80% of food allergies and intolerances, worldwide. Remember to Treat Soy as an Allergen – Because it is one The Soyfoods Association of America…

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Public-Health-Week-iStock-531518027
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events April 7, 2017

Public Health Week 2017 – Celebrate Our Opportunity to Make America Healthy

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events April 7, 2017

If you know me, you know I’m all about promoting healthier, safer, and more inclusive food service habits for everyone. That’s why I love National Public Health Week (@NPHW), a movement that celebrates prevention, advocates for healthy and fair policies, and champions the role of a strong public health system to become the healthiest nation by 2030 (the U.S. is currently ranked LAST). Public health is important because when we’re all healthier, we save money and we’re happier, too. Plus, with all the meetings we hold annually, we actually have an important role in helping the country reach this goal.…

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Two men bullied at corporate awards banquet for having food allergies
Dietary Needs Duty of Care Food Service Meetings & Events February 28, 2017

Two Men with Food Allergies Bullied by Coworkers at Awards Dinner

Dietary Needs Duty of Care Food Service Meetings & Events February 28, 2017

Not Being able to Eat Wheat or Shellfish is No Reason to be Bullied Last week I was at an event where I witnessed two men being bullied/teased/harassed—whatever you want to call it—about their dietary need. I was stunned, embarrassed and utterly dumbfounded. The event was an awards dinner for a corporation and one at which I was hired to manage the food and beverage and oversee the safe execution of special meals for 18 people with dietary needs (a low number considering other events I’ve done, but still seven percent of the group). The two men who were being…

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snack food month
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events February 20, 2017

Allergen-Free Snack Food Month

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events February 20, 2017

National Snack Food Month is here and for me, this is really exciting. Snacking is necessary throughout the day for most people just to keep themselves energized and healthy. Snacks are important when traveling. They are also important to keep available during long, all-day marathon meetings. That makes snacks a pretty important job for those of us in the meetings and events industry. Most of us already do a great job making sure we have healthy options available. We could all do a better job of making sure snacks are not only available at a central location, but that they…

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2017-Cutting-Edge-Food-Trends-iStock-521534856
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events January 24, 2017

2017 Cutting Edge Food Trends

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events January 24, 2017

So much can be said for the future of our industry and of food. There is too much hunger, yet food waste is a major problem. We grow field after field of crops that will feed our cars, our cattle, and ourselves, but we grow in unsustainable patterns with inefficiencies that cause massive price hikes on crops that would be affordable and environmentally friendly if they were only grown cyclically. And what about dining? We come together to celebrate, socialize, and conduct business, but the changing landscape of food laws and dietary needs has created a different environment for the…

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Hand writing Diabetes | managing diabetes
Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events November 9, 2016

Celebrate Diabetes Awareness Month by Savoring Delicious Nutritious Foods

Dietary Needs Food Service Meetings & Events November 9, 2016

Managing Diabetes at Meetings can Improve Health for all  If you follow me on social media, you may have already noticed it’s Diabetes Awareness Month. The celebration is a combined effort across U.S. government entities, medical professionals, individuals with diabetes and their friends and families, those who want to learn more, and organizations across more industries than you would think to help those managing diabetes to eat and feel better. “National Diabetes Month is observed every November so individuals, health care professionals, organizations, and communities across the country can bring attention to diabetes and its impact on millions of Americans.”…

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Dietary Needs Food Service Lifestyle Choices Meetings & Events Recipes October 18, 2016

October: Vegetarian Awareness Month

Dietary Needs Food Service Lifestyle Choices Meetings & Events Recipes October 18, 2016

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month! This doesn’t mean there is a sudden call-to-action for all meat-eaters to go veggie, but it’s a great way to stop and appreciate that there are some amazing veggie dishes out there that are worth building into our main course menus. And if we were to build just a little more veggie-life into our personal weekly menus, we might find we are actually experiencing this delicious world in an even more interesting way. Quick Run-Down on Vegarians: Vegetarian Awareness Month has two purposes. One is to be aware of vegetarians and the reasons for their…

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