Food

Airport Garden Helps Feed its Community

Here’s a great story that wonderfully illustrates and reminds us that airports aren’t just places to fly in and out from.

Each airport also plays many roles in the local community.

Some airports collect loose change from travelers and send it along to local charities. Others organize programs that collect perfectly good unsold packaged food items from airport vendors and pass them along to local food banks.

And since 1997 Canada’s Winnipeg Richardson International Airport (YWG) has been hosting a Harvest Garden that grows thousands of pounds of vegetables each year for local food banks.

And the airport just shared that last week more than 5,000 pounds of potatoes, beets, carrots, and onions were pulled from the airport’s Harvest Garden and donated to Harvest Manitoba. The non-profit sends the vegetables out to 325 food banks and agencies in the province.

Pretty impressive, right?

More impressive, since the Harvest Garden started in 1997, the airport has donated 72,270 pounds of vegetables. That’s enough food to help provide a meal to 100,000 families in need.

According to the Winnipeg Airports Authority, which operates YWG, over the past 25 years, the airport garden has grown from a few rows in size to 4,000 square feet. And employees from nearly every department across the organization pitch in each summer to help seed, weed, and harvest the garden.

Have a great community story to share about your airport? Let us know.

We all scream for ice-cream

July is National Ice-Cream Month

July is National Ice-Cream Month and Sunday was National Ice Cream Day.

And while no one really needs a special reason to enjoy ice cream when traveling, here’s how some airports and airlines marked National Ice Cream Day. Plus some bonus ice cream images from the National Archives.

Boys eating ice cream. Courtesy National Archives

“People have been eating and making ice cream innovations since cold storage became more commercially affordable,” the National Archives reminds us. “Early founders George Washington and Thomas Jefferson regularly enjoyed ice cream, and it was a featured dessert at James Madison’s inauguration ball in 1813.”

Ice cream-related inventions have proliferated over time, “as ice cream manufacturers and other dairy businesses constantly tinkered with new inventions to help mix, freeze, store, and transport ice cream while keeping its flavor and temperature perfect for the market.”

Virtual wait-lists for airport dining

You’ve no doubt heard or read stories about how crowded airports are right now and the long lines at security checkpoints, and at airport coffee shops and restaurants.

Some airports have created virtual reservation systems for checkpoint times.

Now HMSHost, which operates food and beverage outlets at more than 120 airports, is using technology to ease the hassle of sitting down for an airport meal.

The company is partnering with restaurant platform OpenTable to power virtual waitlists at over a dozen HMSHost airport restaurant locations in 7 airports nationwide. 

At participating restaurants, guests can join the waitlist online via QR Codes or in person with the host. Diners will be notified via SMS text message when their table is ready.

Up next, the partnership will enable reservations in advance, with the goal or making airport dining part of the travel booking process. 

HMSHost restaurants featuring OpenTable reservations include:

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport

Summer House Santa Monica

1897 Market

Denver International Airport

Denver Chophouse

Great Divide Brewing

John Glenn Columbus International Airport

Hangar 815

Las Vegas: Harry Reid International Airport

California Pizza Kitchen

Chili’s

Jose Cuervo Tequileria

Las Vegas Chophouse & Brewery 

PGA Tour Grill

Sammy’s Beach Bar & Grill

Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza

Los Angeles: LAX International Airport

Point the Way CafĂŠ

Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport

Chili’s

St. Louis Lambert International Airport

Mike Shannon’s Grill

Restaurant Week at ORD & Midway Airports

Chicago Restaurant Week is underway now through April 4, with special events and a wide variety of prix fixe menus offered throughout the city.

The food festival extends to Chicago’s airports.

Restaurants at both O’Hare and Midway Airports are offering special meal and drink pairings and there are chef demos and special events as well.

The airports are also sharing recipes and celebrating iconic dishes with short videos all week.

Here’s a sampling.

PHL Celebrates National Cheesesteak Day

The food festival team at Stuck at The Airport perks up when airports organize events around food.

So we’re looking forward to Philadelphia International Airport‘s (PHL) week-long celebration of National Cheesesteak Day (March 24) from March 21 to March 25.

The cheesesteak party menu includes special events and freebies. There will also be cheesesteaks and cheesesteak-inspired items at more than a dozen airport eateries.

Here’s the rundown:

Cheesesteak Tasting Panel

March 22, noon-1 p.m., Chickie’s & Pete’s, D/E Connector

Four panelists, including Philadelphia Eagles’ fan favorite and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins, will sample items from Chickie’s & Pete’s cheesesteak menu. While they eat, they’ll chat all things Philly: cheesesteaks, football, and more. The event highlights will be shared on PHL Food & Shops’ social media and website at PHLfoodandshops.com.

Cheesesteak Tour

March 21-25

Interactive tour maps, with QR codes, are displayed throughout the airport highlighting 13 PHL Food & Shops restaurants offering cheesesteaks or cheesesteak-related items.

Delivery of Free Pretzel Factory Mini Cheesesteaks

March 21-25

Want free cheesesteak pretzel rivets?

Place a delivery order with the Grab app or via orderatphl.com during delivery hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m).

Use the keyword “Cheesesteak” in the order notes and you’ll get a free order of cheesesteak pretzel rivets from Philly Pretzel Factory.

If you’re lucky, PHL Food & Shops’ delivery robot, Jawnbot, will deliver the order.