Let’s talk honestly about college dining today, and let’s start with a simple question that nearly every student across North America is asking:
Is it too much to ask for consistent, craveable, inclusive food options every single day, especially when I’m paying between $5,000 and $9,000 a year for a mandatory meal plan?
The short answer? No. It’s not too much to ask. In fact, it’s the bare minimum.
I’ve spent over 35 years walking college campuses, eating in dining halls, listening to students, and studying what works and what doesn’t. And here’s what I’ve learned: Students aren’t asking for Michelin-starred meals. They’re asking for dependable favorites, done well, served with pride and consistency.
French fries. Mac and cheese. A great burger. A grilled sub. A plant-forward entrée. And a legitimate allergen-free platform that doesn’t feel like a second-class experience.
Every. Single. Day.
Why These Foods Matter More Than You Think
Let’s be clear—this isn’t a childish or indulgent wish list. These menu items are emotional anchors. They offer comfort, familiarity, and accessibility in an unfamiliar environment where students are dealing with academic pressure, social transition, and, for many, being away from home for the first time.
They also serve as social lubricants. What food is more universally loved than a basket of hot fries or a burger hot off the grill? They foster connection, casual conversation, and community. If you’re committed to reducing loneliness and increasing retention, this is where you start—not with more programming, but with food that draws students in and keeps them coming back.
The Price Tag Demands It
Let’s talk dollars and expectations.
Mandatory meal plans in the $5,000 to $9,000 range are now the norm. Students and families are mandated to pay this. That’s almost more than many people spend on groceries in a year. So why is it okay to remove core favorites from the menu entirely on certain days? Or serve them inconsistently depending on which dining hall you walk into?
If an off-campus restaurant refused to serve fries or burgers on Tuesdays, or stopped offering mac ‘n cheese on weekends, would anyone go back? Of course not. Yet on campus, we’ve trained students to lower their expectations and accept inconsistency as the norm.
Dining programs must meet the promise that their price tags imply: everyday access to the foods students crave, with enough variety and balance to meet every lifestyle and dietary need.
Craveable and Inclusive Are Not Opposites
There’s a false narrative floating around some campuses that to be progressive, dining must move “beyond burgers and fries.” I understand the spirit of that sentiment. We do need to push toward sustainability. We must reduce food waste. And yes, plant-forward, allergen-conscious, and nutritionally balanced options are more important than ever.
But here’s the trap: somewhere along the line, we began interpreting progress as subtraction.
Removing the foods students love isn’t progress. It’s exclusion.
Real leadership in campus dining means adding value—not subtracting. It means expanding options so that the vegan student and the burger lover can both eat side by side, feel satisfied, and have no reason to leave campus to eat.
It means having both Impossible and Angus patties on the grill. It means a plant-forward mac and cheese made with oat milk and cashew cheese right alongside the classic cheddar version your mom used to make. And yes, it means fries, crispy, golden, real—not some soggy, oven-baked compromise that no one wants to finish.
Consistency Is the Real Innovation
Innovation isn’t about creating the most obscure menu cycle or rotating in exotic ingredients no one can pronounce. The most powerful innovation in college dining right now is predictable, high-quality consistency.
Students don’t want surprises when it comes to core favorites. They want to know that if they had a long night of studying, or didn’t eat breakfast, they can walk into any dining hall and find something that hits the spot.
That’s not lazy or outdated thinking. It’s strategic design.
Because when students know they can rely on campus dining to satisfy them, morning, noon, and late night, they stop leaving campus to eat. They engage. They linger. They bring friends. And that translates to better retention, higher occupancy, stronger social capital, and a more vibrant community.
Food as SOCIAL ARCHITECTURE™
At Porter Khouw Consulting, we’ve pioneered the concept of SOCIAL ARCHITECTURE™, the idea that dining is the most powerful platform to foster friendships, build networks, and drive emotional well-being in students. And guess what: French fries are part of that architecture. So is the mac and cheese. And the grilled sub, the plant-forward grain bowl, and the allergen-free risotto.
Why? Because when students eat what they love, where they love, with people they like, it changes their trajectory. It transforms dining from a transaction to a connection. And connection is what retains students.
The Real Question: Why Wouldn’t You Offer These Every Day?
It’s time to flip the script. Instead of asking whether it’s too much to offer all of this every day, let’s ask why we ever stopped doing it in the first place.
We know the answer: budget cuts, staffing issues, cost of goods, supply chain disruptions. We’ve heard them all.
But at the end of the day, those aren’t reasons, they’re excuses.
The schools that win, the ones who thrive in spite of the enrollment cliff, are those who reject mediocrity and deliver on their value promise every day. They know that food isn’t the student experience. It creates the student experience.
A Call to Action
Whether your current dining agreement expires June 30, 2025 or June 30, 2026, or you’re just tired of broken promises and low expectations, it’s time to act.
At Porter Khouw Consulting, we don’t just write reports. We reinvent dining experiences using our industry-only performance-based, success fee guarantee. That means if we don’t increase your bottom line, you don’t pay us. Period.
Let’s talk about how to deliver the consistency, variety, and value your students deserve, every single day.
Schedule a call with me today and find out if your institution qualifies for our no-risk, results-driven approach.
Because your students deserve more than lukewarm excuses.
They deserve fries—and mac and cheese, with a side of SOCIAL ARCHITECTURE™. Every day.
