American schoolchildren might be getting healthier lunches, but only a third of the nation’s schools have set up salad bars or invested in the kinds of foodservice equipment that could lead to more meaningful improvement.The numbers come from a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which investigated school data from 2000, 2006…

In a long-awaited ruling reverberating throughout the franchising world, the National Labor Relations Board last week upheld the idea of joint employer status, marking a controversial shift in the standard for determining who is liable for hiring practices and employment policies. The ruling came in a case before the board about the former Browning-Ferris Industries…

Driven by stronger same-store sales and customer traffic levels, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index posted solid improvement in July.  Showing its first gain in three months, the RPI stood at 102.7 in July, up 0.7 point from June. In further good news, July represented the 29th consecutive month in which the RPI stood above 100,…

The nine publicly reporting foodservice equipment and supplies companies posted combined revenue growth of 3.6% in the second quarter 2015 versus the same quarter last year. While overall growth was moderate, it was the best quarter since Q3/2014, when sales rose 6.7% and more than a full point ahead of first quarter combined growth of…

The dog days of summer? Not this year. Despite the volatility on the world’s stock exchanges, consumers are in holding pattern of feeling confident, if wary. What does that mean? You can look at the new numbers this way: Despite a dip in late August due mostly to the recent volatility in stock prices, any…

After 17 consecutive months of rising menu prices, consumers’ dining-out tab was unchanged in July. That stability is notable because since early 2014, menu prices had grown at least 0.2% every month, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the July slowdown, menu prices were up 2.7% in the 12 months ended…

Sanford “Sandy” Hahn, CEO of Perfection Equipment, died August 25 in Evanston, Ill. He was 78. Hahn helmed the Gurnee, Ill., maker of beverage and condiment dispensers for more than 47 years. He was a longtime board member of NAFEM, and served as the association’s president in 1996. He is survived by his wife, Kay;…

Two major appointments have been announced at St. Louis-based Star Mfg./Middleby. Lorne Deacon has been promoted to V.P.-Sales for the Star brands, comprising Star, Holman, Lang and Toastmaster. Christian Yungbluth has been promoted to V.P.-Business Development for these same brands. Both will report directly to Division President Brian Kearins. Deacon will be responsible for domestic…

MVP Group, the Miami-based manufacturer and distributor of prep, cooking and refrigeration equipment, has added four executives. R. Wyatt Dendy, CFSP, has joined the company as V.P.-Business Development. The 30-year industry veteran comes to MVP from Moffat/Ali Group, where he served as national sales manager. He is based in MVP’s Texas office. Art Dunham, CFSP,…

JH Carr, the Kent, Wash., furniture manufacturer and upholsterer serving the foodservice and hospitality industries, has named Shane Patrick as its new General Manager. Patrick joins Carr, a division of Foldcraft Co., from BiNW, a Seattle-based Herman Miller dealer, where he spent 26 years, most recently as supervisor-operations. Foldcraft, headquartered in Burnsville, Minn., is an…