Zoe Gonzales / Daily Nexus

When I open Apple News+, I often see suspiciously frequent discoveries of new planets and asteroids, what Kim Kardashian wore to her pilates class, and the random actions of Florida men. What I don’t see are the updates on which restaurants are having deals, which celebrities are announcing new collabs and what new items Trader Joe’s will be introducing this season. So, to take a break from the often discouraging headlines, I’ve gathered up the top food news of the month that may not have made the front page. 

  1. Oreo is collaborating with Star Wars 

Along with having Star Wars characters depicted on the sides of the cookies, the Oreo cookie will tell you whether you’re on the dark side or the light side, but only once you open the pack. Upon tearing open the container, you can find cookies filled with either one of two types of creme — each one symbolizing one of the rivaling sides. Sandwiched in between are also “kyber” sugar crystals, inspired by the crystals powering their lightsabers. The presale begins May 30, so be sure to get yours in time for the release of the new film “Star Wars: The Acolyte.”

  1. Kellogg’s Eggo is releasing their own sneaker

Eggo, along with Dominic Ciambrone, are releasing Eggo Fully Loaded Kicks, a sneaker honoring Eggo’s new Fully Loaded Waffles. These sneakers come in two ‘flavors’: Chocolate Chip Brownie and Strawberry Delight. Apart from their aesthetics, these sneakers offer a utilitarian feature of a hidden zip stash pocket for bringing along emergency syrup packets. Limited numbers of pairs costing $150 drop on May 17, 24, and 31 at Urban Necessities.

  1. Pizza Hut is adding a burger to the menu

The Cheeseburger Melt features beef, bacon, onions, various types of cheese and Burger Sauce. However, this ‘burger’ doesn’t have the typical burger bun. Rather, the contents are folded into a thin crust melt, keeping up the company’s traditional use of flat breads. Pizza Hut is going so far as to station delivery drivers in cars with huge QR codes around competing burger joints. They will be offering free Cheeseburger Melts to customers throughout Chicago and Miami while supplies last. 

  1. McDonald’s is releasing the ‘Grandma McFlurry’ 

Starting May 21, the Grandma McFlurry will be available in stores nationwide. This treat takes vanilla soft serve and adds chopped candy pieces, meant to represent the candies grandmas are known to carry around with them to spoil their grandchildren. McDonald’s will also be releasing the Grandma McFlurry through the Grandma’s McFlurry Mobile, the company’s take on the traditional ice cream trucks our grandmas may have grown up with. These trucks will be offering the new item before it becomes available in restaurants. To really drive the message home, McDonald’s will also be working with Spotify to release two new remakes of songs that grandma may have listened to: “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” covered by Remi Wolf and “Piel Canela” covered by Jay Wheeler. 

  1. Girl Scouts are joining Jell-O 

The two iconic companies will be coming together to present Jell-O Girl Scout Pudding Cups, in flavors of Caramel Coconut and Thin Mints. These snacks offer Jell-O’s creamy pudding with a side of crunchy Girl Scout cookies, a pairing that will satiate all the possible desires of your sweet tooth. These treats will now allow cookie lovers to enjoy their favorites outside of Girl Scout cookie selling season!

  1. Florida criminalizes lab-grown meat 

Of course, we had to include Florida, or else it wouldn’t be a true news round up. Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis has called the movement towards artificially produced meat a “global elite” plan aimed at advancing authoritarian goals. This legislation appears to be the first of its kind, but is expected to act as an example for other states such as Alabama, Tennessee and Arizona. The quickly growing industry of artificial meat production currently contains 43 companies in the U.S, two of which are FDA approved for retail sale. The ban was justified by supporters as a means of protecting the beef industry, but others are upset that this ban diminishes consumer freedom of choice and prevents developments in biotechnology.

Hopefully these news brightened up the gloomy month of May for you just a little bit. While of course we’d love to be seeing more news like this in our news feeds, I suppose staying updated on what the males of the Sunshine State are up to will have to do. 

A version of this article appeared on p. 16 of the May 23, 2024, print edition of the Daily Nexus.

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