2023 Food Management College Power Players

Here’s what’s going on at some prominent college dining programs in the East this spring.

College dining is returning to normal after the disruptions of the pandemic, and this 2023 edition of FM’s annual College Power Players listing takes a look at some of the prominent programs in the country with four geographical listings (East, South, Midwest, West) for the sake of convenience. FM had sent solicitation for information to about a hundred schools from around the country and received responses from a majority, which are all reflected in this and the other three geographically themed galleries.

We asked each school to provide an update primarily in three areas: what remnants of COVID era policies were still in place in their dining program, what was the status of pre/remote ordering on their campus and what recent additions have they made to their program in terms of new concepts, venues, technologies, services, etc.

From the responses generally, it seems clear that the college dining community is pretty much back to pre-COVID normal except for one factor: the pandemic has accelerated the trend to remote ordering to the point where even schools that had planned to cut back on this service were forced to backtrack in the face of customer demand. In fact, a fair number of schools report that the remote order option even extends to traditional residential dining halls, often with some takeout component—another pandemic legacy.

Source: Food-Management.com

24,389

Spring 2023 enrollment

9,412

students living on campus

8,165

spring 2023 meal plans sold

2

residential dining locations open during Spring '23

28

retail locations open during Spring '23

Dawn Villacci

Dawn Villacci,
Director of West Campus Dining

management

Stony Brook University Campus Dining

Recent Initiatives

Stony Brook employees must still follow COVID reporting and the dining program continues to monitor the supply chain for potential impacts of the pandemic both domestically and globally.

For mobile/pre-ordering, Stony Brook uses the GET app, which is available at eight locations on campus during their times of operation.

New concepts and menu items added over this academic year include smoothies and build-your-own acai bowls at the Craft Salads and Bowls in the SAC Market, with flavors like the Choco Nut Smoothie, Super Green Detox Smoothie or the Mango Tango Smoothie; a full service Dunkin’ with coffee and espresso beverages, donuts and more at the SAC Market; and Fresh2U Meal Kits added at campus c-stores that each make two servings with choices like Smashed Black Bean Tostada, Sicilian Chicken with Penne Pasta and Pork and Zucchini Bibimbap. As an added bonus, Campus Dietitian Laura Martorano has been hosting Teaching Kitchens to help students learn how to prepare a delicious meal with the Fresh2U kits.

Stony Brook University is also revving up its mobile foodservice offerings with the debut of the CTFT food truck, offering a rotating menu of burgers, tacos, wings, and “bird dogs”—hand-breaded chicken tenders served in a toasted hot dog roll. The truck appears for breakfast, lunch and late-night service at various campus locations and expands variety and the use of dining dollars across campus. One high-traffic spot is a tunnel connecting the campus with Stony Brook University Hospital. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 8 to 11 p.m., there is music from the Stony Brook deejay club in front of the Stony Brook Union along with a late night menu.

The truck’s offerings are anything but ordinary. For instance, the half-pound burgers come in classic, French onion and Cajun-spiced versions and there’s even one with a sunny-side up egg, bacon jam and maple aioli. Another truck offering is Korean Kimchee Fusion Tacos made with bulgogi wild mushroom kimchi, Indian chicken vindaloo or char siu roasted pork, while its wing varieties are on-trend flavors like Korean fried, creamy Parmesan, Carolina mustard BBQ, Buffalo and Jamaican Jerk (not to mention “chicken-less chicken”). Also on the menus are Bird Dogs, hand-breaded chicken tenders placed in a toasted hot dog roll and coming in All American, BLT, Tex-Mex and Thai Tofu varieties. In Breakfast mode, the truck offers an egg-and-cheese sandwich, breakfast taquitos, avocado toast, French toast sticks and vegan grits and gravy. It also offers a “Bag on the Run” pre-packed with a banana, juice, bagel, butter or cream cheese.

Stony Brook brought a number of new menu items to campus this spring to help students enjoy local seafood choices that are better for the environment and healthier for everyone’s diet.

“Adding local fish to our menus supports the economic viability of our coastal fishing communities and small businesses while providing students with a fresher higher-quality fish,” explains Faculty Student Association (FSA) Executive Director Diana Kubik. “Locally caught fish is sustainably harvested and in compliance with some of the strictest regulations in the world.”

New recipes include baked local fluke marechiara with parsley potatoes and braised escarole; seafood gumbo made with local blackened monkfish with red beans, rice and vegetables; and local RI spicy squid kimbap.

Campus Dietitian Laura Martorano promotes nutrition and wellness to the students, faculty and staff on campus and has been instrumental in developing healthy, sustainable seafood options with the chefs at East Side and West Side dine-in.

“Fish is a nutritional powerhouse that is packed with protein, omega-3 fatty acids and other vitamins and minerals, and eating local fish makes it a great choice that is good for your health and good for the planet,” she says.

CulinArt created a “Plant-based Eating Road Map” for the Stony Brook community that directs students to nearly 350 plant-based dining options across the campus, including both residential dine-in centers and retail operations. The guide was created to help students find foods that come primarily from plants like fruits and vegetables, beans, seeds, oils, whole grains, nuts and legumes and was emailed to all resident students and promoted via social media and on the dining website’s wellness section.

Also new: the FSA rolled out a new special occasion cake ordering service through which students, faculty, staff and parents can order a special occasion cake or birthday cake each hand-crafted by award winning pastry chef, chocolatier and retail baker Lisamarie Gonzalez at Stony Brook Hospital. Customers place their order online and then pick up on campus or at the Stony Brook Hospital bake shop.

For the spring 2023 semester, Stony Brook launched Student Cooking Competitions where two teams of two students competed to make a recipe with mystery ingredients. Competition themes have included best soul food recipe, Leprechaun milkshakes and smoothies, burgers and lastly, using ingredients found at the on campus food pantry. The winning recipes are featured at retail dining locations for a week with a sampling party for customers to try them. Students who win the competition are awarded meal plan dining dollars and receive trophies and medals.

With the help of sustainability students, a new community garden is now thriving on campus. Students meet weekly to volunteer and receive hands-on gardening experience from Stony Brook staff and so far strawberries, tomatoes and basil are thriving. At the end of the season, a picnic is planned featuring the foods grown in the garden.

Weekly Farmers Markets have begun on campus to sell local produce and fresh baked goods. Along with this program Stony Brook has introduced an outdoor Teaching Kitchen, an interactive platform that gives students the opportunity to explore food, culinary and nutrition literacy in a collaborative and team-building environment to positively impact food choices and experiences. Chefs, registered dietitians and food safety managers work together to create an enjoyable experience for all participants.

Plans call for expanding the program’s Freight Farms, creating more opportunities for experiential learning for students. Stony Brook University was the first higher education institution in the United States to launch a Freight Farm on a college campus. The technology offers a hands-on learning environment that prompts students to be more sustainable in their own lives, gives customers a fresh product that is harvested one day and served the next day and donates produce to the on campus food pantry.

Regarding new technology, every dining location now uses Nutrislice menu identifiers. When a customer visits a dining location, they can scan a QR code at the station for each menu item to view the nutritional and allergen information. They can also download the Nutrislice app to view the menu items before going to the location and apply filters for allergens and special dietary needs.

In April, Stony Brook University hosts an annual Earthstock Festival, a weeklong event that celebrates sustainability, conservation and the environment and includes a Smoky Roads BBQ stand, co-host plant sales and adopt-a-seed tables with students, display education tables with information about the on-campus Freight Farm and composter as well as sell local products from start-up businesses made at the Stony Brook University Food Business Incubator at Calverton.

The end of the semester culminates with the annual Strawberry Festival and Diversity Day event where thousands of students, faculty and staff buy tickets to enjoy a special menu distributed at outdoor pop-up tents and experience different heritages and lifestyles with music and dance performances as well as creative arts and cultural trivia.

This year’s menu includes Satur Farm Greens with strawberries and feta cheese with balsamic glaze; plant-based chorizo empanada with salsa verde and roasted corn and bean salad; Chatpata nachos; a crispy chicken slider with strawberry-habanero glaze, slaw and bread & butter pickles; strawberry frosted cupcakes; and strawberry lemonade.