Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - May/June 2022 - 23

control
IT'S 5 A.M., and the breakfast crew is
ready to start. You realize the pancake
batter is running low right before
learning only half the team showed up
to work. Yesterday there were no juice
cups. Still none today. Who is going to
pour the juice this morning?
Supply-chain disruptions on top of
labor shortages hit our days hard and,
while showing some improvement,
have seemingly become the new
normal. You feel as if the solutions are
out of your control. While the cause
and effect may not be in your control,
how you prepare and manage for the
disruption is in your power. Manage
the situation by controlling what's
controllable.
Supply chain disruption, labor
challenges, and inflation are expected
to continue for some time, so it is
simply not an option for operators to
sit back and watch. The impact on you,
your team, and the people you serve
can be significant.
Here are some strategies that can not
only ease frustration, but also manage
costs and assure quality of service
during these challenging times.
* Manage the menu.
* Communicate with your distributor.
THE
CONTROLLABLE
TAKE THE EDGE OFF SUPPLY
AND LABOR SHORTAGES
BY DANA FILLMORE, RD
* Plan for emergencies.
* Assure operational excellence.
Let's look closer at each of these
strategies.
Menu Substitution Checklist
* Confirm that the substitution item is
the same nutritionally (i.e., starchy
vegetable for starchy vegetable).
MANAGE THE MENU
As both supply and price fluctuates
on particular products, menu
flexibility helps. Move items on or
off the menu, swapping ingredients
or entire offerings as the situation
dictates. Some menu items could
be revitalized with seasonal and/or
more-abundant ingredients. Consider
replacing menu items that have been
identified as longer term out-of-stock.
This will reduce a last minute need for
substitutions.
When you are in the situation to make
a last minute change, having a clear
menu substitution policy in place will
help your team reduce stress and meet
service, nutrition, allergen, and cost
guidelines. You may want to consider
a temporary " menu substitution "
policy during times of known supply
disruption. Give permission to
additional trained staff members to
make changes to provide relief to the
process. This checklist can help.
* Identify and communicate allergen
changes.
* Review preparation and serving
directions. Adjust production
time and communicate to staff if
different.
* Verify the correct portion size to
serve.
* Alert clinical staff of the therapeutic
and consistency differences
(carbohydrate count, sodium level,
etc.).
* Alert all staff of menu changes so
they can help update your guests.
Now is also a perfect time to reevaluate
your menu in terms of cross utilization
of products. This will help you
streamline the number of products
you need to purchase. The same
greens used for salads can be used as
sandwich toppings, or as a bed for an
upscale seafood dish.
If your staff is particularly challenged
with labor, consider swapping some of
your scratch menu with some added
value products. For example, use a parbaked
biscuit versus all scratch.
NUTRITION & F OOD SER VICE EDGE | MAY-JUNE 2022 23
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - May/June 2022

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