5 things: UMass tops Princeton Review Best Campus Food list again

Each Friday Food Management compiles a list that highlights five things you probably missed in the onsite foodservice news that week and why you should care about them.

Here’s your list for the week of August 17:

The University of Massachusetts Amherst has maintained its No. 1 ranking in college dining for a fifth year in a row. The Princeton Review, in its 29th annual college rankings report, placed UMass at the top of its list of “Best Campus Food.”

Rounding out the top 10 were Bowdoin College, Washington University in St. Louis, Pitzer College, Cornell University, Vanderbilt University, University of Scranton, Virginia Tech, Gettysburg College and College of the Atlantic.

Read more: UMass Amherst ranked top school in campus dining for 5th year in a row by Princeton Review

Just a few hours after Shashwath Keta settled into his Purdue University dorm room Monday afternoon—“Not as crazy moving in as I thought it would be,” he said—the freshman from Austin, Texas, made his way over to Earhart Dining Court for first meal on the West Lafayette campus.

More accurately, he made his way around the corner from the food hall on First Street and then up a sidewalk along neighboring Shreve Hall, nearly to Third Street, where the line ended during prime dining time and among groups of other freshman bonding ahead of this week’s Boiler Gold Rush orientation.

Related:5 coronavirus things: Michigan State, Notre Dame latest to ditch in-person classes

“I saw (the line) on Reddit,” Keta said, “so I guess I was ready.”

Just behind him, Alex Plump had a stopwatch going on his phone. The final time, between end of the queue and a “Heartland Classics” selection of popcorn chicken and comfort food sides at the finish line inside a retooled, grab-and-go dining court: One hour, 33 minutes and 22 seconds.

Read more: Purdue’s reopened campus: Long lines and grab-and-go service greet students at dining courts

Food services company Sodexo Management Inc. faces punitive damages claims stemming from an E. coli outbreak at two California Marine Corps bases, after a federal court in California allowed eight plaintiffs to amend their complaints.

Vincent Grano and the other Marine recruits alleged they were sickened in 2017 from undercooked beef served at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

Read more: Sodexo Faces Punitive Damages Claims in E. Coli Outbreak Suits

Related:5 coronavirus things: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill halts in-person classes

N.C. State will move undergraduate classes to online-only for the remainder of the fall semester after seeing a spike in coronavirus cases and a rapid increase in the number of students in quarantine and isolation, the university announced Thursday.

Chancellor Randy Woodson announced the decision in a school-wide email, citing off-campus gatherings, clusters of the coronavirus in Greek Village houses and more than 500 students who are forced to quarantine themselves because of their exposure to COVID-19.

Read more: NC State to move undergraduate classes online after new COVID-19 cases, clusters reported

The NFL’s Green Bay Packers are investing $9 million for concession upgrades at Lambeau Field as they move gradually toward a cashless operation for a fan base that still favors hard currency to pay for food and drink. Five new grab-and-go markets are set to open for the 2020 season, tied to a self-checkout system using the Appetize point-of-sale platform. The concepts revolve largely around barbecue, bratwurst, pizza, beer and cheese curds, all high-volume sales items for the Packers and Delaware North Sportservice, their concessionaire.

Read more: Packers Have a $9M Concessions Tab

Bonus: Students must wash hands, check temps before entering dining facilities at Stanford

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]