Saturday, April 4, 2020

"‘We can’t make enough mac and cheese’: Processed food is undergoing a renaissance as people settle in for a long stretch of cooking at home" (KHC; CPB; CAG)

As noted elsewhere, don't look for folks in the West to lose much weight.
From the Orlando Sentinel, Apr. 3:
If the coronavirus has brought much of the world to a standstill, you wouldn’t know it inside the huge Kraft Heinz factory in Champaign, where production lines are running around the clock to meet surging demand for the company’s legacy brands.
“We can’t make enough mac and cheese right now,” said Dilton “Dee” Gibbs, plant manager at the facility that makes half of the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese sold in the U.S., as well as A-1 steak sauce, mayonnaise and salad dressings.

The packaged food giant, along with many of its peers, has had to ramp up production amid an abrupt reversal in consumer trends. Shoppers who in recent years shunned processed foods in favor of fresher, healthier and more premium products are now loading up on shelf-stable standbys as shelter-in-place orders force vast swaths of the nation’s population to prepare for a long stretch of cooking at home.

Food manufacturers are faced with the dual challenge of keeping retail shelves full while also ensuring their workers stay healthy — and motivated to keep showing up despite fears of COVID-19....
....MUCH MORE