Hot food vending


CTO of Mr Lee’s Pure Foods, Martin Verspeak


Chris O’Neill, UK sales & operations director for BonCulina


The changing demand for hot food vending


Providing hot food to key workers has been paramount during lockdown, but as the time comes for offices to reopen, the focus will shift. Here VI speaks to two hot food vending providers about demand in the last 12 months and what’s to come as lockdown eases.


D


uring the COVID-19 pandemic the NHS has been at full stretch and there has never been a greater need to make sure that our frontline NHS workers have access to hot food 24/7 to sustain


them during and after their long and tiring shifts. The stay-at-home rule and lockdown have further meant that fewer


options for a hot healthy meal have been available to these key workers who in many cases have found themselves relying on, and enjoying, a 24/7 hot food catering service. The service, offered by Bon Appetit, has been made available to 70 NHS


hospitals with the most recent installations including the Royal Derby, Shrewsbury, Telford, Leighton and the Luton & Dunstable University Hospitals. The service comes in the form of a cost-effective automated catering


service that satisfies CQUIN 1b requiring the provision of a healthy hot food service for doctors and nurses outside of conventional catering hours, particularly for night shifts and weekends.


Noodle kiosks


Also available to NHS staff in some healthcare environments has been Mr Lee’s Pure Foods healthy hot noodle kiosks. The kiosks use a display giving users all the information they need to make their


choice through a fully custom designed machine with interactive touch screen. CTO of Mr Lee’s Pure Foods, Martin Verspeak said: “Mr Lee’s kiosks have


been very well received by staff in hospitals throughout the pandemic as they have remained open around the clock for frontline staff. “Interestingly we have seen NHS staff also purchase products to take and


consume after their shift, which makes us happy as they must clearly love them.” “During these unprecedented times, vending machines have become an


essential service and here at Mr Lee’s we have been working on a range of new products coming out in Spring 2021 to satisfy the changing needs of the public and provide food solutions for any time of the day.”


22 | vendinginternational-online.com “In the past few years there has been a significant increase in


demand for healthier products within the vending market. We believe this will keep growing after lockdown restrictions are ended and here at Mr Lee’s we will continue to offer healthy high-quality and tasty products.”


safe to opeN


Right now, the focus is on Monday 21 June, which is the date the Government has targeted as to when it should be safe for businesses in general to plan to get their employees back to work. With this date in mind Bon Appetit, in association with BonCulina, aims to


help businesses manage the challenge of feeding staff effectively as they slowly return to the workplace. Managing director of Bon Appetit Keith Pordum says: “Businesses will be


finding it uneconomic to reopen their canteens with so few staff on site but need to provide their employees with a hot food service.” The Back to Work Catering Solution is considered to be a total workplace


meal solution package which is high quality, low cost and zero waste. It will be rolled out in three parts: • A smart restaurant service with meals including All-Day Breakfast; Fish Pie; Sausage & Mash and Roast Chicken Dinner as well as a range of pasta dishes, oriental and Indian cuisine; • A home delivery service for workers still continuing to work from home; • And a 24/7 hot food vending service.


iN CoNClUsioN


Many customers might choose a hot food option if it’s available to them. This type of meal alternative, which appears set to be rolled out to offices is likely to appeal to workers keen for nutrition and variety all wrapped in a heated package.


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