Restaurants and foodservice accounts continue to sit up and take notice what customers want from their food packaging. Over the past 18 months, with more takeout and to-go orders than ever, materials that keep food hot (or cold) and retain its quality and integrity have been increasingly in demand.

Eagle Landing is the first free-standing dining hall at the University of North Texas (UNT). With seating for 700 guests, it boasts 16% more seating capacity than the next largest dining hall. “We now have a $25-million building on campus based on food and the food experience,” says Peter Balabuch, executive director of Dining Services.

The last year and a half put the spotlight on food safety and sanitation like never before. Even though it was quickly discovered surfaces were not a COVID-19 spreader, the pandemic made everyone hyperaware of cleanliness. Yet cleaning and sanitation represent but one part of any comprehensive food safety program.

The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) awarded Hope College’s dining program with a gold medal for the Loyal E. Horton Dining Award for Residential Dining Concepts (Medium Institution). The award, says Dan Zehr, director of residential and retail dining, was based on the college’s allergen-friendly station and program called The Zone.

The National Association of College & University Food Services named Kristina Partridge, director of university dining services for the University of Alabama, as the organization’s 64th president. NACUFS members also elected eight new members to its board of trustees. Patridge has been a member of NACUFS for more than 20 years and served on the

Now that research has shown little-to-no risk of transmitting the virus through hard surfaces, we have seen reusable containers come back to campus.

With the fall semester in sight, college and university foodservice operators find themselves evaluating what worked and what didn’t during the previous academic year as they prepare for the new school year. While they hope for more normal foodservice programs, many changes from the past year may remain.

Eight microrestaurants greet customers at Ball State University’s North Dining complex. Open to students, faculty, staff and visitors, this marketplace-style dining venue primarily serves 2,000 residents living in four large residence halls near the dining facility.

The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) presented its 2020 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards to member institutions across six different categories.

Lewis Beville, Amundsen Commercial Kitchens

Office buildings, schools and events venues that aren’t already open will likely resume operations in the coming weeks and months. These restarts will include commercial kitchens for cafeterias and food vendors.

The all-you-care-to-eat central dining facility at the University of California, Merced, serves as a critical link between old and new campus buildings. The functional, productivity-driven space almost resembles a kitchen turned inside out, maximizing student connections with the food experience.

The food station has become a standard design component of many foodservice operations over the past few years.

California Polytechnic State University (more commonly known as Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo, Calif., welcomes the new 3-story, 35,400-square-foot Vista Grande Dining Complex. The first level contains two retail concepts, along with a registered dietitian’s office. The facility’s second level, Vista Grande Dining Pavilion, houses a campus dining hall offering six microrestaurant concepts, each with its own identity, and a production kitchen. Administrative offices and a large meeting room occupy the third level.

Robert Nelson will become CEO for the National Association of College & University Food Services, effective April 12.

Much to the delight of the University of California, Riverside community, the highly anticipated, renovated and expanded The Barn restaurant and Patio Bar opened last summer. It stayed in operation until December 2020 when it closed due to University of California guidelines, which meant minimal students on campus. The university plans to reopen the facility this fall.

The takeout era has brought along with it some alternative ways of looking at equipment, food halls, campus dining and c-stores.

This renovation blends a foodservice and grocery market concept and also creates a large halal-certified residential dining facility.

The juice and smoothie bar market continues to explode as consumers look to incorporate more nutrients into their daily diets. The estimated $5 billion segment offers myriad varieties of single-unit and chain operations. Along with piquing customers’ interest and loyalty, labor efficiency also factors into designs.

Ralph Brennan, a third-generation restaurateur, was elected chairman of the board of The Culinary Institute of America. He succeeds Robert Muh, an investment banker.

University of Connecticut’s Whitney Dining Hall

The Society for Hospitality & Foodservice Management recognized 20 up and coming foodservice professionals with its 2020-21 Rising Stars Award.

From launching a 100% plant-based food truck to moving retail foodservice to the point where 50% of sales come from self-order devices, Zia Ahmed continues to keep The Ohio State University on the forefront of the trendline.

As takeout options continue to increase, eco-friendly packaging options come into question in terms of balancing sustainability goals with costs, availability and new normal realities.

Disruption may reign right now, but college and university foodservice leaders are busy strategizing for what the future may look like and how dining can continue to contribute to the campus experience, whatever form that might take. Here’s a quick look at trends and innovations some say will continue to shape or reshape programs in response to COVID-19.

With COVID-19 upending everything and fall semester fast approaching, questions about what’s next loom large for most of the nation’s college and university dining programs. The biggest and most immediate of those: Will there be students and staff physically on campus to feed?

A sometimes overlooked subset of college and university dining, two-year community colleges and technical schools are experiencing the same uncertainty right now as their four-year counterparts. But with COVID-19 fears and safety protocols dashing students’ hopes for a traditional residential campus experience, and with community colleges offering affordability, the ability to transfer credits, and the option of living at home until the dust settles, the segment could be a bright spot.

Stone Culinary Center at Wilkes Community College expands the culinary arts and baking and pastry programs.

Pavilion Dining Center, University of California, Merced

Today’s college students demand bold, unique flavors in their dining choices. But real estate remains at a premium at many smaller universities, which impacts how much space operators can dedicate to foodservice. To provide those flavors in a condensed space, Sodexo developed CRU5H (pronounced “crush”). This food and drink concept combines the variety one would expect to find in a food court into one unique brand.