After adjusting its meal plan program, New York University says its dining services now provide more value to students.

At New York University (NYU), the dining services program strives to be a diverse source of fresh foods for students. Located in New York City, NYU operates five residential dining locations, including a full kosher dining area, three licensed cafes, two retail locations and a catering department.

“Our goal is, honestly, to have a great program and present great value to the students,” declares Owen Moore, director of dining services. He notes that the campus features Quiznos, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks Coffee, Java City and Chick-fil-A locations. Moore says NYU’s dining services program is part of the college experience, and its employees develop relationships with students. “We see our customers three times a day, seven days a week,” he states. “The students will tell you what they like and what they [would] like to see changed.”

Moore joined the university six years ago, after working in the hotel and restaurant hospitality industry. He has enjoyed the move from a corporate environment to NYU.

“There’s an energy on the campus with, obviously, the blend of knowledge, experience and youth,” he says. “In a campus environment, you are more sensitive to specialty menus and diets of the students, including allergies, religious holidays and the different levels of vegetarians.”

In addition, he has enjoyed the location. “One of the centers on the globe is New York,” he declares. “All those things have made it a very advantageous transition.”

Capturing the Students
During the past three years, Moore says, NYU has successfully increased student participation in its meal plan program. In the 2003-2004 academic year, the university found that the program experienced flat growth in memberships. “We took that as a sign that we are not really capturing our students,” he states.

To increase student membership, NYU conducted surveys, focus groups and intercept interviews to determine how value could be added. Students said they wanted its dining locations to be open longer. In addition, the students wanted the meal plan program to allow them to use their meal credits whenever they wanted, as opposed to limiting their use to specific timeframes.

During the 2004-2005 academic year, Moore says, NYU increased its locations’ hours of operations and added more flexibility to the meal plans. “We said, ‘You’ve got 175 meals a semester, [so] use them whenever you want,” he explains.

The following year, NYU added its Meals 2 Go program, which allows students to take their meals to go in a microwave-safe container. “[It] allowed them to eat where they wanted, when they wanted,” Moore says. “They felt that was a great value.”

The university made changes to its Dining Dollars program, which allows students to use their meal plans at its Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and Dunkin’ Donuts locations. At the students’ request, NYU also changed its meal plan program so unused Dining Dollars could be carried over from the fall to spring semesters.

According to Moore, the dining program uses the populations of its residences as its marketplace. In the 2004-2005 academic year, he says, NYU had 5,700 out of 12,000 students enrolled in its meal plan program.

In the following year, the membership grew to more than 6,100 out of 11,500. According to Moore, this growth shows that NYU’s students believe value has been added.

Additionally, the university has scored higher in its quality assurance surveys. “They’re also saying, ‘Not only are you guys making value, you’re doing things better than you did a couple years ago,’” Moore says.

NYU tries to cater to specific tastes. At every dining location, Moore says, the university offers vegetarian and vegan options. In addition, NYU also serves multiple ethnic choices at its Marketplace at the Kimmel Center, with Mediterranean, Pacific Rim, Asian, rotisserie food stations and even a halal station.

Currently, Moore says, NYU is renovating Hayden Residential Dining Hall, one of its oldest facilities. In addition to an upgraded look, he says the renovated eatery will feature an expanded buffet focused primarily on using sustainable and organic products. It is projected for completion in summer 2007.

Valued Partners
Moore says NYU’s foodservice vendors have been key to its success. While Aramark Corp. has provided foodservice to its dining locations for 30 years, NYU has utilized Restaurant Associates for its faculty club and All Seasons Services Inc. for its vending operations. “We honestly believe that each of these companies are specialists in significant areas,” Moore states, noting that the companies have allowed NYU to compete with the many dining options available in New York City.

Vendors can pool solutions from their previous experiences and apply them to challenges NYU encounters. “They address our needs before we even know we have them,” he says. “That comes [with] the values of using a nationally recognized partner.”  FAD