Eating at a Meeting

I first met Chef Stephanie Tyson and Vivián Joiner via a Zoom call for Les Dames d’Escoffier North Carolina Chapter during the middle of the pandemic. What I did not know about them, but have come to realize, is they are one of Winston-Salem’s power couples. As the owners of Sweet Potatoes, (Well Shut My Mouth!) restaurant for 20 years, they have been using their 3+ decades of customer relations experience in food and retail, to build bridges in the community one dish at a time. Join our conversation on Tuesday — a special episode of Eating at a Meeting for Women’s History Month — to learn how they have been making HERstory with food and beverage.  Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Recorded on Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Christian season of Lent, a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, Tracy discusses what it and other religious practices mean for serving food and beverage in the office and at events being held over the next six weeks.  Lent is a 40-day religious observance (not including Sundays), which ends three days before Easter Sunday on Thursday, April 6, 2023.

According to the CDC, “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States killing 314,186 women in 2020—or about 1 in every 5 female deaths.” That equates to one woman every 80 seconds. In this episode of Eating At A Meeting I talk with Wendy Freiwald-Kirkland, Global Director of Business Development, ExpoCAD about what it means to be heart healthy because if it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. Wendy is a two-time survivor of heart attacks. While a #MeetingsProfs who works out and takes good care of herself, she also has a lot of stress in her life (event planners are known to have one of the top 5 most stressful jobs). Listen to how she tries to eat healthy on the road and works hard to do the right things for her health. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Food waste is estimated at 30-40 percent of the food supply in the US. In 2010, the USDA estimated that to be approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food. That equates to 218.9 pounds of food waste per person being sent for disposal, according to the EPA. In 2021, more than 42 MILLION AMERICANS — 12.6% — were estimated to be food insecure. That means you lack reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food, which can result in poor productivity in both children and adults, and increase the risk of physical and mental illnesses.  Victoria Zapata, National Site Manager for Food Rescue US talks with Tracy about how we — YOU — can be the rescue to fight hunger and help the planet. It is easier than you might think. We will also discuss why there is not more diverse representation in food recovery.  Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

When Tracy saw CBRE’s September 2022 Hotel Horizons® forecast in early December stating that food and beverage (F&B) recovery was lagging from pre-COVID levels while rooms revenue per available room (RevPAR) was exceeding 2019 annual levels in 2022, I wanted to find out more. Especially when the cost of food is increasing and meeting planners are spending even more on their already largest expenditure. I'm excited that Andrew Hartley of CBRE Hotels Advisory who studied and analyzed F&B department revenues, expenses, and profits of 1,228 properties for the report will join me on #EatingAtAMeeting LIVE to talk about what he's seeing in the trends for U.S. hotel food and beverage departments. Listen as we discuss these F&B programs — where they were prior to the pandemic and what they look like in the post-pandemic environment, including what is attributing to the lag and industry standards that have been eliminated as a result of the pandemic. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Tracy takes a look at various reports that share the food and beverage trends for 2023. From specific food and beverage ingredients and products (CBD, dates, salts) to processes such as upcycling and cultivating meat as well as philosophies to be more intentional and purpose-driven, Tracy shares the leading food and beverage trends for individuals, organizations, and food service providers.  Tune in to learn how and why to incorporate these trends into event, home, and space menus. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

We learned earlier this month how the non-alcoholic beverage market is growing rapidly not just for hashtag#DryJanuary but overall and throughout the year. One wine store owner I talked to last month said that 38% of people of drinking age are choosing not to consume alcohol or are consuming LESS of it. That is why Lauren Chitwood and her co-founders created the non-alcoholic brand Spiritless. They were three young mothers with eight kids between them who were/are driven entrepreneurs and passionate social drinkers who enjoyed an evening cocktail to wind down from their day.  Like most consumers buying their alcohol-free spirits and ready-to-drink (RTD) non-alcoholic canned cocktails, they were "feeling the strain of weekday drinks at work dinners, added calories, and sluggish mornings after a few glasses."  Join Lauren and Tracy for #EatingAtAMeeting as they chat about how they started the business, their experience as female founders in the spirits industry, and how low and non-alcoholic beverages are an incredible tool for drinkers and non-drinkers alike.  Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Do you have any 2023 events for which the contract was negotiated before or during the COVID pandemic? When was the last time reviewed the contract terms related to food and beverage service, menu items, staffing, and pricing? A lot has changed with food and beverage service due to the pandemic. On Wednesday's episode of hashtag#EatingAtAMeeting LIVE, Joshua Grimes, Esq. of Grimes Law Offices, LLC is going to join me to talk about how, in this strong seller’s market, hashtag#MeetingProfs can ensure they are protected and prepared for changes. We're going to cover a lot — inflation, food costs, staff shortages in both the kitchen and front-of-house, how high demand for space may impact what was previously thought secure, gratuity and service charges, and F&B performance policy provisions. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Tracy talks with Food Economist and Associate Professor at Michigan State University David Ortega who studies what people eat, how it got to their plates, and various factors that affect foods' journey from farm to people's plates. His explaination of why and how food prices are rising is important for us to all understand. It's not just one thing that's affecting the increase. It's a variety of factors that are really coming together kind of a perfect storm of various things that are contributing and are sort of compounding each other. David also discusses consumer demand — what we're eating as well as where and how we're spending our money on food. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

In this year-end conversation about food, Tracy chats with Dani Nierenberg, an American activist, author, journalist, and Co-Founder and President of Food Tank, a non-profit that offers solutions and environmentally sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty around the world.  Listen as Tracy and Dani chat about how the state of the US (and global) food system, our most pressing environmental and agricultural, and food issues, the newly approved Food Donation Improvement Act of 2021, and how we can link the cultural, medical, religious, and beliefs around food for a more productive, healthy, and sustainable global food system