CHICAGO -- Campus foodservice is an important component of the college experience, with 44% of college students indicating that their school's dining program was at least somewhat important in deciding where to enroll. Yet only 32% of students say their school does a good job of making sure students are pleased with the overall dining program.
With nearly 16 million college and university students in the United States commanding over $300 billion in spending power, it's vital operators and suppliers meet their growing needs, according to a new report from research consultancy Technomic.
[image-nocss] "Despite the fact that 62% of students surveyed say they eat at on-campus dining facilities at least weekly, only 28% of students are satisfied with the healthy offerings at their school, and only 34% express overall satisfaction with their school's dining facilities," says Sara Monnette, Technomic's director of consumer research.
"Operators on and off campus could attract more students and increase the frequency of visits by refining their menus based on students' desires."
Monnette also points out that trends taking shape on campuses could become part of the broader foodservice market as graduating students enter the workforce and gain additional spending power.
Findings from Technomic's "College and University Consumer Trend Report" include:
- Customization is an increasingly critical issue for college diners. Nearly half of students polled (47%), compared to 43% of those polled in 2009, said it is important that they can omit or substitute ingredients in their food.
- Twenty-one percent of students limit their consumption of meat by sticking to a vegetarian or vegan diet, eating only certain types of meat, or eating meat only occasionally.
- Nearly half (48%) of students strongly agree that they would like more on-campus dining facilities to stay open later at night.
For more information on the survey, visit www.technomic.com.
Pictured above: University of Massachusetts-Amherst
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