Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., introduced the Transforming Education for the Future Act, a measure that would provide universal free school meals and expand benefits from the Summer EBT and Child and Adult Care Food Program. The bill would provide free breakfasts and lunches to all US students, increase Summer EBT benefits from $40 to $60 per child per month, and allow schools to serve up to three meals plus a snack daily through the CACFP.

The Texas Food Championship will take place from Sept. 25 to Sept. 27 at Water's Edge Park in Corpus Christi, Texas, featuring 150 to 200 chefs, pitmasters and home cooks competing in categories such as barbecue, burgers and seafood. Winners will earn "Golden Tickets" to the World Food Championships in Indianapolis. The event includes live music, family activities and local vendors.

Avolta has partnered with the Hawaii Department of Transportation to introduce new food and beverage concepts at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, Lihue Airport and Kahului Airport. The initiative will feature collaborations with local brands, chefs and producers, including chef Alan Wong, to create menus that reflect Hawaii's culinary culture.

Kitchen + Kocktails is set to open its largest location yet in New York City's Times Square next month. The Southern food concept, founded by attorney Kevin Kelley in 2020, has already received more than 4,000 bookings for the new restaurant, which will feature 10,000 square feet of space across two stories. The menu will include classics like Blackened Shrimp and Grits, Fried Chicken and Waffles and Caribbean Jerk Lamb Chops.

RD Jillian Kubala recommends five foods that surpass pumpkin seeds in magnesium content, offering various health benefits. Spinach provides 157 mg of magnesium per cooked cup and is packed with vitamins and antioxidants. Hemp seeds offer 210 mg per ounce, along with protein and healthful fats. Amaranth, a gluten-free pseudocereal, contains 160 mg per cooked cup and provides protein and fiber. Cacao powder delivers 204 mg per ounce and is packed with antioxidants. Rice bran tops the list with 280 mg per ounce, also providing fiber and B vitamins. These foods offer diverse nutritional profiles, making them excellent choices for boosting magnesium intake, says Kubala.

Some Tennessee schools are struggling to afford fresh, local foods after the Local Food for Schools program was canceled in 2025 as part of federal budget cuts. The Agriculture Department's new Harvest to Hallways initiative aims to address this by providing $70 million for equipment and $25 million for Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants. However, some school nutrition directors say that while the funding is helpful, it does not fully address the higher costs of local foods.

Restaurants across the US are reinventing the classic Caesar salad with unique ingredients and flavors. Amá in Philadelphia uses wood-fired little gem lettuce and masa crunch, while Hellbender in Queens incorporates castelfranco and Cotija cheese. Babbo in New York features pink celery and Sicilian anchovies, Recoveco in Miami adds green papaya and datil pepper salt, Cafe Olli in Portland uses a vegan tahini dressing, and Honeysuckle in Philadelphia includes smoked herring and black garlic.

Eight vegetarian sandwiches were put through a tournament to determine what separates an exceptional sandwich from an average one. The key factors were quality bread, balanced ingredient proportions, structural integrity and contrasting textures, with pickles adding the acidity that many tasters considered essential.

Leadership often involves a delicate relationship with deception, writes Alexander Puutio, who teaches leadership at Harvard, Columbia and NYU Stern. While overconfidence and certain personality traits can help someone emerge as a leader, these same traits do not guarantee effective leadership, writes Puutio, who notes that prosocial lies meant to benefit others can build specific types of trust, but can cross into self-serving or fraudulent territory if leaders aren't careful.