The fall saw the industry’s “Big Three” contract firms report their fiscal 2021 results, and all three indicated a sharp uptick in business over the second half, which generally covered this year’s spring-fall period.

Labor and product shortages have remained a problem, but operators are still in a better position than they were in 2020, according to the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s Foodservice Leadership Councils.

With labor availability down, food outlets on numerous campuses were forced to curtail operating hours, limit menus and even shut down in the early fall.

It isn’t often that a healthcare operator wins the Gold Plate Award in IFMA’s annual competition, but this year one did: Antoinette “Toni” Watkins, system director of food & nutrition services at Riverside Health System, and we interviewed her about it and other topics.

In the foodservice industry, different markets can come up with innovations, ideas and initiatives that might apply more broadly. Here are some from the commercial and retail food worlds onsite operators might want to keep an eye on.

With pandemic-forced restrictions easing but labor and food costs rising, operators look for ways to be more cost-effective and customer-friendly. Technology is one prevalent answer and here are some cutting-edge developments.

Texas Tech University won the Best of Show award in FM’s 2021 Best Concept Awards program, accompanied by winners in nine individual award categories.

With schools needing to reach remote learners with meals, corporate dining looking to extend the amenity to at-home workers and other markets looking at serving off-premise customers, the onsite dining world is learning to grow beyond its traditional footprint.

We highlighted 16 Foodservices Heroes from among the 200-plus nominated by their organizations by readers as going above and beyond the call of duty over the past year.

FM’s annual roundup of what’s going on among the largest contract players found—no surprise—that most had very bad years in 2020.

The big news of 2021 for the school nutrition community was USDA’s announcement that it would extend the National School Lunch Program Seamless Summer Meal Option through June 30, 2022, meaning that schools choosing this option will receive higher-than-normal meal reimbursements for every meal they serve through the 2021-22 school year.

A new spin on FM’s much-anticipated annual College Menu Playoffs had college and university food service teams get their campus pumped up (even at a distance) with MVP menu items.

The year saw major players positioning themselves for the future with strategic acquisitions and alliances, one of the biggest being Sodexo’s Nourish and Good Eating Co. moves.

Every year, Food Management’s sister site Nation’s Restaurant News names the top leaders in the food service industry with its Power List, which this year focused on leadership during the pandemic and the concurrent social unrest.

The pandemic has forced onsite dining programs to adapt with a range of initiatives to replace traditional business lost due to restrictions and policy changes.

The coronavirus pandemic has extended the ways onsite food service programs work with external commercial foodservice operators.

Early in the year, we explored the changes wrought or accelerated by the pandemic in how foodservice is offered in businesses and institutions, with ongoing ramifications for its workers.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced onsite dining providers to adjust operations with new or modified service models and programs like grab and go, preorder and delivery in order to continue to provide quality foodservice while keeping customers and staff safe. Here’s a roundup of what they’ve been doing.

At the beginning of the year, dining directors from various onsite dining markets gave their views on what they’re looking forward to over 2021.