By By Dan Hounsell

Slowly, the nation’s hospitals — along with patients and their families — are contemplating and implementing new procedures and behaviors in response to the state of the COVID-19 pandemic. With vaccines widely available, many hospital operations are rethinking their operations and offerings, and food service operations are no exception.

This spring and summer will see customers venturing out more thanks to big rollouts of vaccines, but many will still be concerned with staying safe and keeping themselves healthy, according to Food Management. Customers are emerging from their quarantine cocoons, and chefs and food service managers are planning the outdoor events, picnics, cookouts and outdoor dining scenarios as the spring sunshine heats things up. 

Sahina Dizon, Morrison Healthcare’s corporate executive chef, is gearing up with a variety of sides, including lemon loaf with citrus ricotta, honey-Sriracha-roasted sweet potato and squash salad, nutty mushroom-barley salad, cauliflower tabbouleh, farmhouse pasta salad and toreados.