Campus dining is quickly evolving to keep up with the demands of savvy college students. From robots to ghost kitchens and redefined meal plans, leaders of campus dining and hospitality services must stay on their toes, particularly as they prepare for the fall 2022 academic school year.

“COVID accelerated this whole technology revolution in pre-order mobile, robotics and contactless transactions,” said Bob Wolkom, IHS Senior Associate. “Now, as things start to stabilize, we’re seeing the technology become permanent in the actual application and then the infrastructure to support it.”

Here are four trends that he and Laura Lozano, IHS Senior Consultant, see in their campus visits – trends that auxiliary services and university leaders can no longer ignore when they plan:

Implementing Delivery Robotics

Robots took to college campuses before the pandemic. But demand is skyrocketing, with robots roaming campuses on two, four and six wheels. In late March, Brandeis University launched robot delivery from Kiwibot for its Waltham, Mass., campus. Students and staff can pay a per-order fee or sign up for one of Kiwibot’s subscriptions to get food delivered to them anywhere on campus.

Kiwibot offers robots at other campuses, including New Mexico State University, Loyola Marymount University, and Gonzaga University.

Addressing Food Deserts

Unattended micro-markets, retail robotics and food lockers are becoming a part of the landscape on many college campuses. Areas of campus known as food deserts, those with limited access to dining services, have used these delivery solutions to address food needs for campus constituents. If a college has available space, operators can easily create micro-markets and improve safety for students who don’t have to walk at night in search of food.

Food can be delivered to designated locations from ghost kitchens and placed in temperature-controlled food lockers or through next-generation vending machines. Recently, Sodexo announced a partnership with Yo-Kai Express to offer high-tech robotic vending machines with ramen and udon noodle bowl combinations. Students can place their orders and make payments via touch screen.

Redefined Dining Plans

Operators are re-evaluating their traditional meal plans. More campuses are offering unlimited or carte blanche plans, creating more accessible and exciting collaboration space in dining centers for students throughout the day. When students don’t have to worry about how many meal swipes they use, they look at things differently. You start to see a change in culture and behavior — it gives rise to more inclusion and a sense of campus community.

Offering Self-Cook Stations

Operators also developed programs that give students the opportunity to customize and cook what they want in designated standalone servery stations. Students can choose from an array of proteins, grains, vegetables and sauces. In some cases, they have culinarians to help them work through suggested recipes. The concept promotes an enhanced, hands-on student experience.

Operators at colleges, populated by campus community members in tune with what’s new, need to be especially nimble and foresighted to stay ahead of culinary trends.