Employers are taking steps to emphasize healthy lunch options on-premise, according to Technomic's MenuMonitor. On-campus menus are featuring more salads – 65% more than last year – while heartier, indulgent fare like Mexican and pizza saw declines.

Healthy produce is also gaining menu share, with the fastest growing ingredients including carrots, spinach, tomato and mushrooms. Employer menus have also tripled the number of health claims advertised to staffers.

"Aligning with menu trends from limited- and full-service restaurants, top health claims at noncommercial foodservice segments are vegetarian, vegan and low-fat," says Bernadette Noone, vice president at Technomic. "Menu items like 'gluten-free' show substantial growth at commercial restaurants. However, gluten-free items are not growing as fast on noncommercial menus."

Technomic's MenuMonitor analyzes more than 540 noncommercial menus—including college and university, lodging, airports, recreation, health care, and business and industry—to provide the foodservice industry with trends and opportunities for the noncommercial segment.