Campus food more than meets the eye

When my sister the Food Nut invited me to attend a Food Focus Committee meeting at the University of Cincinnati, I was intrigued. A few weeks prior, I had written a column about the campus eateries lacking nutrition and received a very nice response from Katy Higbee, the program coordinator for housing & food services at UC. Since she had taken an interest in my opinions, I decided it might be interesting to see what the focus committee meeting was like. Plus, as my sister Morgan pointed out, we got a free meal and a gift certificate out of it.

The meeting was in Mick & Mack's, and the food was delicious (as can always be expected of M&M -- although it's a teeny bit pricy for regular eatin') -- meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans just can't be beat, as far as I'm concerned.

Once the 10 or so students had been wined and dined (minus the wine, of course!), the cluster of food services people (there were five or six of them) asked us what we thought about campus dining. We discussed ways to encourage people to eat at MarketPointe during the Center Court rush hours (my favorite ideas were the smoothies and take-out lunches), what sort of food we'd like to see in the dining halls, how to better advertise the independent meal plans and anything else students were curious about.

The thing that really surprised me, however, was how many things the food service team actually already do that most of us had no idea were available. And this isn't just some easy PR for them -- I was actually really impressed by how much effort these people put into our campus's dining experience. For example, did you know:

• The dining halls have themed days every couple of weeks, from Mardi Gras to St. Patrick's Day to a Parisian-themed bistro?
• You can view their weekly menus AND nutrition info online?
• These Food Focus meetings happen monthly and are open to any student?

 Also, I did a little more research into the independent meal plans, because I've heard before that they're pretty cost effective, but when you see the cheapest plan still costing $150, it seems a little hard to swallow. The bronze IMP includes 15 meals, plus $30 of Bearcat cash (which can be redeemed at most places on/around campus). So that's $120 for 15 meals, which equals $8 per meal. For unlimited food, drinks, coffee, desserts, etc.

Not too shabby, Food Services.

I must admit, I'm impressed. I'd love to see how the feedback from the focus meetings is actually implemented -- do these meetings actually make a difference? But overall, I walked away from the meeting with a full belly and an better understanding and appreciation of the program.

How do you think food services at UC could be improved? What do you think is great about them, already? Leave a comment or send a tweet to @arielfab!