Elon’s “grown-up snack packs” are like the Lunchables you loved (or coveted, because your mom wouldn’t buy ‘em) as a kid are all grown up with a decidedly Mediterranean flavor, made with fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and locally sourced pepperoni.  

The charcuterie snacks at Elon are thoughtfully sourced: local cheeses and salami from North Carolina.

“Gen Z students don’t have to be vegan to want vegan options,” says Jonathan Squibb, marketing pro with Compass Group/Chartwells K12. “In our schools, we’re always on the lookout for new vegetarian and flexitarian options.” This sandwich, served at Ledyard High School, Oak Brook, Ill., includes lots of roasted veggies (peppers, squash, onions, carrots) and a smooth, creamy housemade hummus to keep it all together.

On the retail menu at Muhlenberg College, this wrap is zero waste with canned chickpeas (reserving the liquid to whip into aquafaba, a mayo substitute here), shredded lettuce, carrots and tomato on a spinach tortilla. Shown here, they’re cut into snack size, but could easily appear in a to-go box.

Where possible, dining outdoors was easily the preference of the year for 2020, and taking it to the Italian countryside with the “Al Fresco” event was a very smart move by the Elior North America unit Cura Hospitality team at Presbyterian Senior Living at Westminster Woods in Huntingdon, Pa.

For this socially distanced event, the culinary team fired up the pizza oven for bread brushed with olive oil and served with slices of fontina cheese. Also on the menu was penne pasta, Italian sausage and chicken topped with butternut squash sauce and these housemade cannoli with fruit (pictured). The caricature of Chef/Assistant Director of Dining Robert Pennington is courtesy of Kristen Kyle, cook. The drawing is now hanging in Pennington’s office, so he must have liked it!

On the regular menu at Westminster Woods, this inventive to-go appetizer was added as a retail option. Imaging a savory artichoke dip morphing into a slice of cheesecake and you’ll get the idea of what this portable creation is all about.

The build is beautifully simple in this salad-sandwich hybrid from Aramark at Adventure Aquarium, Camden, N.J. So many great plants here: grilled zucchini and tomato, pickled onion, crisp lettuce and a scoop of garlicky hummus on a whole-wheat bun.

This melt from Harvest Table Culinary Group at High Point University shows the power of just a few Mediterranean ingredients.