2014 College Power Players: Michigan State

3. Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Students Living on Campus: 15,000
Dining Head: Guy Procopio, director of Culinary Services
Total Enrollment: 49,300
No. of Meal Plans Sold: 14,500
Annual Dining Program Revenues: $76.4 million
Cost Range of Residential Meal Plans: $2,687-$2,987/semester
No. of Residential Dining Halls/Commons: 10
No. of Retail Outlets: 27
Management: self-operated
Website: eatatstate.com
Phone: (517) 884-0660

MSU Culinary Services operates 10 dining halls that offer all-you-care-to-eat dining as well as 30 retail dining facilities, including the award-winning Eat at State ON-THE-GO food truck, 21 Sparty’s c-stores and coffee shops, Riverwalk Market at Owen Hall, three on-campus Starbucks locations and four food courts.

The dining halls offer on-campus students unlimited access from 7 a.m. to midnight daily to cooked-to-order dining options. Each campus neighborhood has its own executive chef overseeing the menus and food presentation. Culinary Services’ registered dietitian ensures that allergen and nutrition information is properly presented and communicated.

A Dining Master Plan launched in 2009 was designed to create an integrated approach to neighborhood dining across campus, aligning dining capacities with projected changes in housing occupancy to meet demands and needs for any given part of campus. On August 23 this year, Heritage Commons opened after 14 months of renovations, the sixth of seven major renovations in five years that also included Brody Square, Riverwalk Market at Owen Hall, Holden Dining Hall, South Pointe at Case Hall and The Vista at Shaw. Akers Dining Hall, currently undergoing renovations, will conclude the Dining Master Plan when it reopens this January.      
   
Culinary Services also operates more than 100 vending machines on campus, concessions, the campus’ own MSU Bakers bakery; Food Stores for food purchasing, warehousing and distributing; and Spartan Linen Services, an on-campus laundry facility.

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