Foodservice facts for kids

The foodservice industry, also known as catering in the UK, is all about preparing and serving meals away from home. Think of it as all the places where you can grab a bite to eat that isn't your own kitchen! This includes popular spots like restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, and even special event catering companies.

Many different businesses are part of this big industry. They all work to make sure people have delicious and safe food when they're out and about.

Who Supplies the Food?

The businesses that prepare food for you, like restaurants, get their ingredients from special companies called foodservice distributors. These distributors provide everything from fresh ingredients to kitchen tools.

Sometimes, a company makes a product that you can buy in a grocery store (like a small bag of chips) and also a much larger version for restaurants. The restaurant version usually comes in big packages and doesn't have fancy labels, because it's meant for cooking, not for individual sale.

Food Service Facts and Figures

The entire food system in the US, including places that sell groceries and places that serve prepared food, was worth a huge amount of money in 2010 – about $1.24 trillion! Out of that, the foodservice industry made up about $594 billion.

The USDA says that foodservice includes any place that makes food for you to eat right away. This means not just restaurants, but also places like sports stadiums or even some retail stores that sell prepared meals.

Restaurant Popularity

Most of the money in foodservice comes from restaurants. In 2010, full-service restaurants (where you sit down and a waiter serves you) and fast food restaurants made up 77% of all foodservice sales. Full-service restaurants were just a little bit more popular than fast food places that year.

The kinds of food and service these restaurants offer can change based on what customers want.

Global Food Trends

The National Restaurant Association found that more and more people in the US are trying foods from all over the world. In 2015, 66% of Americans were eating a wider variety of global foods than they were in 2010.

A big 80% of people were trying different 'ethnic' cuisines at least once a month. And almost a third (29%) had tried a brand new 'ethnic' dish in the past year! This shows how much people love exploring new flavors.

Big Food Suppliers

The market for Foodservice distributors in the US was worth $231 billion in 2015. Two very large companies, US Foods and Sysco, control most of this market. Together, they have about 60-70% of the business! They even tried to merge once, but the government stopped them because it would have given them too much power over the market.

How Food is Served

There are different ways you can get your food when you eat out.

Counter Service

With counter service, you order your food directly at a counter. Sometimes you pick up your food there too, or a staff member might bring it to your table. This is very common in fast food restaurants in the United States. You also see it in pubs and bars in the United Kingdom.

Table Service

Table service is what you usually find in most restaurants. You sit down at a table, and a waiter or waitress (also called a "server") comes to take your order. They then bring your food to your table. You usually pay for your meal at the end, after you've finished eating. There are even special types of table service, like "silver service," which is a very formal way of serving food.

Keeping Food Safe

Making sure food is safe to eat is super important in the foodservice industry. There are special rules and guidelines to help control any dangers that could make food unsafe.

One important international guideline is called ISO/TS 22002-2:2013. It's part of a bigger set of rules called the ISO 22000 family of standards. These rules help businesses design and follow programs to keep food safe.

These guidelines apply to many different types of foodservice, including:

• Regular catering
• Food served on airplanes or trains
• Big events like banquets
• School and work dining rooms
• Hospitals and healthcare facilities
• Hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops
• Any place that prepares and serves food!