• Demand for food pantries is at a record high in Chicago. [Chicago Breaking News]
• Obama’s proposed budget includes $300 million to fight the Asian carp invasion in the Great Lakes. [ABC 7]
• Next weekend should be a banner few days for restaurants, thanks to the combination of Valentine’s Day and President’s Day. [Crain’s]
• Following the revelation that melamine-tainted foods from 2008 are still being sold, the Chinese government has launched an emergency check of the country’s dairy products. [NYT]
• School lunch advocates are unhappy about the modest $1 billion increase (which must be split with WIC) in funding for the meal in Obama’s budget,. [Diner’s Journal/NYT]
• Now for the first time in the twenty years since McDonald’s first opened in Russia, independent contractors produce all the chain’s food in the country. [NYT]
• Newly crowned Miss America Caressa Cameron is the spokesperson for IHOP’s National Pancake Day. [NRN]
• Despite testing 37 brands of coffee, Consumer Reports couldn’t find one that measured up to its standards as “excellent” or “very good.” [Reuters]
