“The average restaurateur makes about 4 cents for every dollar, and now with decreased traffic and increased costs, it’s even more challenging for them,” says Jim Osborne of US Foods--one of the giants of foodservice distribution to restaurants, hotels, catering, schools and more. On the latest From the Cold Corner Podcast, I talk with Osborne about US Foods’ latest initiative—the Restaurant Reopening Blueprint—to help restaurateurs navigate new guidelines for service, staffing, and customer behavior due to coronavirus.

Volume foodservice accounts for approximately 1/3 of the food produced in the country, so we also discuss how US Foods’ massive inventory was modified (or not, like #10 cans appearing on grocery store shelves) to help meet crushing retail demand while restaurants were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as US Foods' charity efforts related to coronavirus, and its latest Spring Scoop new product catalog aimed at bar and grill menus. 

For more, just click here to listen, or subscribe to From the Cold Corner and download from your preferred podcast app.

Finally, we continue to update and compile all of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods' coronavirus coverage into one easy-to-access link here, where you can see what dozens of cold chain companies and F&B processors are doing to keep business moving forward during the COVID-19 pandemic.