Why does food offering on campus always rate so poorly in our surveys?
Out of the 10-15 questions we ask in our Campus Experience Index survey, students almost always rate eating experience as the lowest scoring category Recently we have seen some of the poorest results since the start of the Index.
Let's dive into the detail.
Firstly, food provision is obviously dependent on the number of people on a campus. The convenience of online learning is resulting in reduced campus attendance. Along with the rising cost of food, this is an unwelcome combination for estate teams when it comes to planning retail. From what we have seen, when done right the food mix builds and retains campus communities.
What leads to the low scores we see?
The top issues students comment on when it comes to eating experience are cost, quality and options/variety of food. When we take those comments and look at the corresponding score, what drives down satisfaction the most (by far) is cost. This in itself is complex, as it is tied to perceived value.
Other issues include healthy food, international options, dietary requirements, opening hours and availability of kitchens. Depending on student demographics at your campus it is helpful to understand the variation in needs and preferences. The graphic below contains results from our eating experience question, showing that postgraduate and international students tend to be less satisfied.
Scores for eating experience vary by campus location. Regional and rural campuses score more poorly. Whilst these and suburban campuses have challenges in retail provision, it is not all rosy for urban campuses. Students are now concentrating their time on campus and want to access food or beverage close to them, and aren't going to walk 15 minutes each way to a nearby cafe.
"Food options are quite pricey...It is more convenient to stay on campus than leave for food and these businesses are taking advantage of this"
What works? What do students like?
1. Cheap options and kitchens
Being realistic, you cannot possibly cater to a hyper-diverse range of users and keep everyone happy. But right now, there need to be cheap, bulk options like refectories, canteens or mess halls available for large campuses. Hungry students are not healthy or productive and many are struggling financially.
The campus with the highest food score we have seen (20% above our average) is in Europe, where a central organisation provides food to multiple universities. Their venues were packed with students. There is variety, but nowhere near the extent seen on Australian or UK campuses. This model has kept the cost down for students and not opened a can of worms on choice.
Kitchens are very popular, offering food preparation tools, microwaves, hot and cold water etc and comfortable seating areas. Investing in these allow students to bring food from home, controlling their expenditure.
2. Social opportunity
The process of going to get a coffee or food is often not just to fill an empty belly but to have some downtime, socialise with friends, take a break or do some work. We ask students where they go on campus (apart from the library) to study and cafes, lounges and kitchen areas are always at the top of the list.
With this in mind it is important to consider the role that eating plays in community building, and over the next few years food venues may not yield the same return seen in the past, but are still a worthy investment. Food and drink help create the serendipitous interactions we are missing with increased online activity.
"There are minimal options for lingering - let us sit down, have a coffee ... and catch up, talk this over, work on this etc."
3. Fun
Food trucks, farmer's markets, pop-up stalls and coffee vans all work to create vibrancy in the right locations. These help students plan a week and have a reason to stay (e.g. meeting friends at the food truck on Wednesday) and provide variety without the commitment of a long term vendor (albeit current vendors need to be on board).
How would your campus rate when it comes to eating experience?
We survey students around the world on campus spaces, places and buildings.
Eating experience is one of the categories we evaluate, as well as teaching and study spaces, social and green space, wayfinding, safety and belonging. If you are interested in running a survey to gauge student feedback to your campus, and be benchmarked against other universities, drop us a line to set up a free chat to learn more.
Book in a free chat to learn more or email us on hello@campusintuition.com
