The Future of Food

Food Forward

Food continues to take on new forms and formats. A fish fillet can be grown in a dish; a four-course meal can be enjoyed in the car. The pandemic has sped up some of that innovation while also adding a level of uncertainty: How will food be produced, packaged, transported and consumed differently when all this is over? Here’s a look at the people and processes at the center of those questions.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended daily life as we know it, including how we eat. With more meals arriving in a bag and being consumed at home, chefs consider the long-term impacts it could have on our food experience.

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“It can’t just be the conversation of just putting food in the hands of schools, but doing it in a way to build resilient communities that prioritize BIPOC farmers that have been left out and have not been part of the conversation.”

—Krystal Oriadha, senior director of programs and policy at the National Farm to School Network

Recent Articles

Restaurant Business

8 menu trends from the future

A global conference last week in Europe provided a preview of where restaurant menus may be headed. Here are the eight currents that were anointed megatrends. You'll need to bring your own fork.

Grocery Business

Food industry associations are uneasy about FDA's new record-keeping rules

FMI and NGA say new recording processes will hurt smaller grocers and exceed the FDA’s statutory authority.

Grocery Business

UNFI brings indoor farming to its distribution centers

The distributor and vertical farming company Square Roots entered a new agreement to add Square Roots' indoor farms on-site at select UNFI distribution centers.

Grocery Business

Drive Holiday Sales with Convenient Cooking Solutions

From experienced chefs to novice home cooks, aromatics and herbs are indispensable parts of the kitchen arsenal.

Grocery Business

The self-checkout grocery debate continues

Whether to offer cashier-staffed lanes, self-scanners or a mix of both is an ongoing question for retailers. Some grocers, though, have no interest in the labor-saving technology.

Grocery Business

US Foods Furthers Its Commitment to Offering Quality Produce Year-Round

Partnership with Kalera is the distributor's largest vertical farming relationship to date

Restaurant Business

How cell-based seafood could become the next catch of the day

Companies are working to grow fish filets from cells. They just need U.S. regulatory agencies to approve their creations before restaurants can sell it.

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10%

Amount of restaurant patrons last year who said their most recent white-tablecloth meal had been eaten while traveling in a car, up from 3% in 2019, according to Technomic

35%

Amount plant-based items will grow on menus by the end of 2022, according to Technomic

318%

Increase in orders of spicy chicken sandwiches on Grubhub last year compared to 2019, according to Grubhub

30%

Amount by which commercial waste decreased during the pandemic; residential waste rose 15%, according to the Food Packaging Institute

“You have all the positives of fish, all of the flavor, with no mercury or plastics or pollutants, in a highly sustainable product.”

–Lou Cooperhouse, CEO of cell-based seafood company BlueNalu

Restaurant Business

For foodservice distributors, a future filled with uncertainty

As the restaurant industry changes, the distributors that supply it face changes and a lot of complexities.

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Resources

Grocery Business

Changes to Food Production Are Coming Fast and Furiously

Four major movements will affect what we eat and how food is grown.

CSP Daily News

A New Definition of Meals on Wheels

Autonomous vehicles can open new branding and eating occasions for food marketers

Grocery Business

The Food Store of the Future

Transformative technologies and intensifying consumer trends toward health and convenience will cast a radical new footprint for the supermarket.

Restaurant Business

In Search of the Next Major Protein Source

Going beyond beef and chicken, experts are looking to science and nature.

Restaurant Business

Futurist Sees Big Changes Ahead for Foodservice

Brian Frank, general partner with FTW Ventures, shares his expert insights.

Restaurant Business

The Future of the Supply Chain

Expect lots of small changes, but there's no magic bullet on the horizon.

From the Experts