Farmer's Fridge

During Coronavirus, Healthy Hospital Vending Machines Are in Demand | Eater

"Started in 2013 with a single Chicago machine and grown to more than 400 locations pre-pandemic, this vending-machine food company sells fresh meals in sealed plastic jars — salads, wraps, smoked cheddar Cobb salads, burrito bowls, tarragon chicken salad wraps, chia seed pudding and Tuscan rotini — most with a 48-hour shelf life. Its sales fell first at airport locations such as O'Hare and Newark and later in office lobbies, but business at 97 hospital sites (56 in the Midwest, 41 in the Northeast, including 24 in New York City) doubled after March 1 as health-care workers sought quick meals when cafeterias closed; the company added machines at hospitals including Northwestern Memorial, New York‑Presbyterian and the Javits Center field hospital, stocked 60 mini-fridges with free food for staff, and now feeds over 30,000 meals a week to health-care workers at roughly a 25% discount. An engineering team monitors orders to optimize stocking and donates excess sealed food before it spoils; the company also introduced stricter production and distribution hygiene measures, disinfects machines and touch screens, spaced production stations, required masks, and began home delivery. After initial scrutiny from the New York City health department prompted a voluntary shutdown of 55 Manhattan fridges, a federal inspection of the Chicago kitchen found rigorous safety protocols and the machines were ultimately classified and regulated like restaurants — a change the company views as validation of its effort to be seen as restaurant-quality, contactless nourishment rather than traditional vending-machine fare." - Caleb Pershan