Campus Dining 2030 and Beyond - 98

Session 2
THE THINK TANK
TECHNOLOGY
With the rise in both the availability and use of technology, it is a crucial tool for educating and promoting
nutritionally balanced eating while students are in school and beyond. A number of ideas around how this
could be executed and implemented emerged from the session. An app could monitor what meals the student
has ordered through the dining services, analyze the nutritional content of those meals, and suggest next
meals to help create a balanced diet for the student. In this same vein, the technology ought to be used to
award points and/or badges based on food choices that are nutritionally balanced, thus gamifying their
food consumption. This same gamification can be used as an incentive to encourage students to try new
foods to expand their nutritional palate. Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be integrated into the application
to help students identify where on campus the foods they want and need can be located. Technology should
also be leveraged to educate students to counteract the misinformation surrounding food and diet, an issue
pervasive throughout the media today. Finally, these applications must be easy to navigate and user-friendly
for both the student and staff to have high levels of adoption and use across both populations.
ACCESIBILITY
Modern students want access to food outside of traditional mealtimes as well as during normal operating
hours. To best serve the health needs of the student, the offerings during those out-of-mealtime periods
should be thoughtfully considered, with special attention paid to intentionally providing offerings that are
nutritionally balanced. This thoughtfulness towards nutrition should be extended to all meal parts and all
students. It is nothing new to offer specialized diets for athletes, as it is understood that nutrition impacts their
performance. However, this same consideration should be used in designing offerings for all students, as
nutrition also has an impact on academic performance. It was also recommended that these nutritionally
balanced meal options be shared with employees. If organizations can promote the health and wellbeing
of their employees through meals, then it is more likely that the employee will then provide better products
and services to the student.
Inclusivity in dining is another major point concerning accessibility. The facilities and offerings need to
convey that the food is safe for students with special dietary restrictions and needs. From allergies to religious
dietary restrictions, it is paramount that students feel the food they are being provided is safe for them to eat.
In addition, providing authentic foods from various cultures can help international students relate to the food,
as well as feel more at home and comfortable on campus. These authentic food experiences have the added
benefit of educating students about other cuisines and cultures and promoting an environment of inclusion.
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Campus Dining 2030 and Beyond

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