Purdue struggles to keep up with food demand as student body grows

The student population at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., is growing at a rapid rate, and its dining facilities are implementing new measures in an effort to keep up with the demand, the Lafayette Journal & Courier reports.

Bill Sullivan, Purdue's chief financial officer, said he believes that building one or two new dining halls will be the university’s long-term solution; however, until those projects are complete, it’s testing some temporary solutions to feed the ever-increasing student body.

Students are now able to use their meal swipes at some restaurants in the student union and for evening purchases at The Daily Bite campus food truck. Purdue is also offering popular items such as sushi at less crowded dining halls in an effort to mitigate traffic at the busier ones.

One thing the university said it will not do to combat the problem is outsource operations, an option it had previously considered.

"We run a very efficient and well-run dining operation here, so at this time there's no need to outsource dining," Sullivan told the Journal & Courier.

Read the full article at jconline.com.