FoodServices Online are Attracting the Youth in your local College or University

I recently spent the afternoon surfing the Net and turned up some interesting foodservices online and interactive ways in which web pages can be used to spark student interest in campus consumption of proper nutrition.There was a time in the not-too-distant past when a search of college web sites for ideas and innovation was largely a waste of time. More often than not, the pages accessed contained either a simple listing of cafeteria hours and weekly menus, or an outdated listing of cafeteria hours and menus.Sites like Millersville University, Millersville, Pa., which last year began allowing students and staff to order items from Gordy's Deli for later pickup, were very few indeed.

For example, students at the University of Pennsylvania who have access to a computer and printer can take advantage of "online coupons" for Chats, Penn Dining's coffee house and restaurant. Coupons included one for 50 cents off any Gene's Beans cappuccino or latte and another for $1 off the purchase of a Thomassito's pizza.

"This is our way of saying thank you to those Of you who use our web site," announces the copy at the top of the coupon page.Continuing on the web site, students discover that they can participate in a trivia contest, the prize of which is $10 in "Dining Dollar$" for use at three different Penn Dining locations.

Five students who can answer a question correctly -- one recent example was "What was buried in the garden in Hitchcock's `Rear Window'?" -- receive the designated prize.

The web site for another Ivy League school, Yale University, offers students a "fat calculator." Using JavaScript, students can estimate the amount of fat they're consuming foodservices from there current foodservices.

Students with a culinary bent can prepare meals just like "Chef Jeff," Yale executive chef Jeff Trombetta, by following the recipes posted on the site's "Table for Two."