<p>Colleges are working hard to keep their customers happy as this article about UCSD reports. So, although recent improvements such as broadened selections, a move away from transfats and to healthier, whole food options have boosted food prices, San Diego students like what the college food services are dishing up:</p>
<p>
[quote]
“The prices have gone up a little, but I'd rather have good food,” said Burleigh Drummond, a UCSD sophomore eating a hummus and turkey ciabatta sandwich last week at the OceanView Terrace cafeteria.</p>
<p>If anything, several students said they would prefer even more healthful and varied options.</p>
<p>“If the food is not good, I'm not going to eat it,” said UCSD freshman Ariel Whitson.</p>
<p>The demand for higher-quality food has stoked sales for colleges across the country. On-campus student dining purchases rose 3.4 percent in the past year, according to a survey released this month by Food Service Director magazine.</p>
<p>And sales are projected to increase by 5 percent next year, according to food consulting firm Technomic Inc. As college dining services have become more business savvy, they've come under increasing pressure to boost revenue for schools, said John Lawn, editor-in-chief of Food Management magazine.</p>
<p>At UCSD, the dining facilities raked in $22.7 million in revenue last year, while spending $20.4 million. San Diego State's dining operation took in $17.2 million and spent about $17.1 million – far better than five years ago, when its costs exceeded revenue by more than $1 million.</p>
<p>No more all-you-can eat</p>
<p>College officials say they are using upscale markets such as Whole Foods and the restaurant industry as models, rather than other universities.</p>
<p>Many have shifted away from the all-you-can-eat system to more varied options, including grab-and-go meals and declining-balance meal plans that allow students to pay for individual dishes.</p>
<p>The grab-and-go market, which includes wrapped sandwiches, fruit cups and similar portable meals and snacks, has grown dramatically in the past two years.</p>
<p>USD provides grab-and-go options at all its retail facilities, and has seen sales grow 25 percent in the past year. SDSU officials say their portable food business has tripled in the past two years.</p>
<p>“Students today are too busy in their daily lives to sit down and enjoy a meal,” said Paul Melchoir, associate director of SDSU's dining service. “They eat on the run. They eat in classrooms.”</p>
<p>Another trend that college officials expect to have a big impact in coming years is a greater focus on environmental issues in college dining.</p>
<p>Many colleges, including several in San Diego, buy produce from local growers. That results in fresher fruits and vegetables, and it's better for the environment, officials said, because it requires less shipping and fewer fertilizers.</p>
<p>SDSU started a program in the fall that composts fruit, vegetable and meat trimmings from the cafeteria. So far, the campus has diverted 28 tons from the Miramar Landfill.</p>
<p>USD officials say they're considering switching from paper and Styrofoam packaging to materials that are biodegradable and made out of sugar cane.</p>
<p>“We're finding that the generation we're serving now really cares about these issues,” said Kim LaPean, marketing coordinator for residential and student services at UC Berkeley's Cal Dining. “They're asking us questions like, 'Where does the food come from? How is it grown? How far did it travel?' They're more curious about what happens to the food before it's served.”
[/quote]
</p>