Colleges: An Apple a Day

Screen shots of Stanford’s iPhone app shows how users can naviagate to nutrition info on particular menu items.

Stanford University Dining Services has debuted a menu and nutrition information application that students can download onto their iPhones. They can then use it to check the day's selections at all dining halls and cafes, and by clicking on a particular dish, they get nutritional data such as number of calories, fat content, and so forth.

The information is uploaded in real time from the department's menu management program. Both that program and the iPhone application were developed by Computrition. The software firm had previously worked with Stanford Dining to develop links between the menu management software and the dining department website, which has been making menu and nutritional information available to students for several years. The iPhone app now puts that data on a mobile device.

“We decided to start with the iPhone because so many students have them,” says Eric Montell, executive director of Stanford Dining. “This way, students can check to see what is being served at each location without needing a computer. They can then decide where they want to eat.

The application can be downloaded through a link on the Stanford Dining home page. Montell says he plans to unroll it to other popular mobile devices in the future, as well as merge it into the university's iStanford application, which students use to access an array of services, from checking course and activity schedules to finding their way around campus and getting the latest campus news.

“Stanford was one of our first Xchange Gateway customers, which resulted in the real-time presentation of menus and recipes on the Stanford Dining website,” says Computrition President/CEO Scott Saklad. “This product is a natural evolution, and puts even more knowledge into the hands of students, employees and faculty on campus.”

“We're excited about our partnership with Computrition and we look forward to helping students and staff make healthy eating decisions,” adds Shirley Everett, senior associate provost for residential and dining enterprises at the school.