Eating at a Meeting

Recorded on Day 2 of IMEX America 2022. Tracy is joined by David Stevens who is a director of field marketing and global events who talks about how to create more healthful events by focusing on three M words — movement, mindfulness, and meals. Listen as they chat about how to provide for your attendees by creating dining experiences that are not exclusive, but inclusive. Let people make their own choices and create their own experiences.

This episode of Eating at a Meeting was recorded live on day 1 of IMEX America 2022. Tracy sat down with Ruud Janssen of the Event Design Collective who designs award-winning corporate events and gatherings. Listen as they chat about how, when, and why food and beverage should be part of the design process. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

In this episode, Tracy sits down with Stephanie Beatie of Scottish Event Campus and Rory Archibald of Visit Scotland to talk about food and beverage and how to create safe, sustainable, and inclusive events in Scotland and in general. Listen to get great ideas on how they manage and promote their practices. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month To bring more awareness to how food allergies (and other medically-necessary dietary needs) are disabilities that impact productivity, engagement, and inclusion in the workplace, I'm chatting with Lauren Soltwisch and Noreen Okarter, two young professionals with food allergies about the ins and outs of managing food allergy in theirs careers, social life, and everything in between.

Monday, October 10, 2022 is Indigenous Peoples Day. To celebrate Native peoples throughout the US., Tracy chats with Chef Sean Sherman, co-owner of the restaurant Owamni (Minneapolis, MN) and founder of "The Sioux Chef", a company dedicated to revitalizing and reclaiming Native American cuisine. A member of the Ogalala Lakota Sioux tribe, Sherman is fervent about bringing indigenous food systems like wild food usage, land stewardship, and pre-colonial foods to the modern kitchen and dining table. He is doing something right. In June, Owamni was named Best New Restaurant of 2022 by the James Beard Foundation, the "Oscars of food." On the menu at Owamni are dishes that prioritize Indigenous-sourced foods native to the region. What is NOT on the menu are beef, pork, or chicken, nor wheat flour, dairy, cane sugar, or black pepper — ingredients introduced to the continent after Europeans arrived. He wants to create a "decolonized dining experience" and help us to re-identifying the foods native to our land. Listen as Tracy and Sean chat about Native American food traditions that can and should have a place on our table today. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

On this episode, Tracy and Erin Malawar of Allergy Strong recap The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. This is the first conference of its kind in more than 50 years. The first and only other one was held in 1969. The Administration's goal is "to end hunger in America and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030 so fewer Americans experience diet-related diseases." The Domestic Policy Council has been working "within the federal government, including with over 20 agencies, and listening to members of Congress, academics, advocates, community leaders, philanthropic groups, health insurance and food companies and people with lived experience" to build the National Strategy and design the conference. The recap will cover what we learned, as well as where and how the #MeetingsAndEvents industry can help support the goals through the five pillars that comprise the strategy. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Megan Walker, Owner and Executive of Made by Meg had me at “health inspection score.” She was teaching an educational session at The Special Event back in 2017 on what food safety means and what planners need to know/ask of their caterers. Yes! When I surveyed hashtag#EventProfs on how often they asked their caterers about food safety practices before COVID, 70% of them said NEVER. While we should trust caterers to know how to manage food safety, we still must inquire about their practices. Tune in to #EatingAtAMeeting LIVE on September 21 to get Meg's tips on what to ask food service providers, how she makes food safe, and how she gets the most out of food? Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Tracy has known Chef Todd Annis of Cru Catering for ~20 years when we were both in Atlanta - as a caterer and a corporate event planner. When I randomly found his podcast "Catering...WTF", I laughed, was amazed, and immediately reached out because the stories he shares about the behind-the-scenes of catering is important for hashtag#EventProfs to understand. Listen in as Tracy & Todd talk about THE question chefs hate to answer, how business is booming but staffing is scarce, tastings, dietary needs and more. This will be a LIVELY conversation on the role caterers have in an event. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

On this episode of Eating at a Meeting, Tracy chats with Jennifer Squeglia CMP, principle at RLC Events, Inc. about what silver linings she sees that came from the pandemic throwing the industry in a tailspin. One of those is the value of sharing a meal with others. Tune in to learn how we can use the pandemic to adapt, execute, and use food and beverage as opportunity to foster connections and create inclusivity. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com

Have you ever witnessed someone having an anaphylactic reaction? It is pretty scary. Tune into the next episode of Eating at a Meeting LIVE to learn what my good friend and event planner Heather Herrig, CMP recently experienced to put her on the personal side of the dietary needs question on an event registration form. Heather has been a part of the meetings & events industry since 2005 - and loves every aspect of what goes into creating amazing, inclusive, and engaging experiences. But more importantly, she's a mom, and one whose personal experience is changing how she will handle attendee's dietary needs at events. Connect with Tracy: facebook.com/groups/EatingataMeeting thrivemeetings.com