Elevated Adventures in Campus Cuisine
Food. Glorious food. It brings people together like nothing else. It helps turn a moment into a cherished memory. And it’s central to how today’s college students connect with their peers and the world around them.
That fact really stood out once we gathered the results of Sodexo’s 2024-2025 Student Lifestyle Survey, in which students told us that food is the number one way they connect with their peers and their campus. And innovation is the name of the game when it comes to satisfying the ever-expanding trends that this new generation of foodies is dreaming up.
87% told us that they equate dining with socializing and connecting with friends. 70% want to feel a sense of belonging and community on their college campus.
A Dash of Creative Energy
Sodexo’s Culinary Innovation team heard students loud and clear, and we’ve responded by using our combined creative forces to elevate Sodexo’s residential dining portfolio. Using our industry knowledge — and collaborative relationships with our on-campus partners — we’ve created university dining concepts that offer a holistic integration of delicious cuisine, inviting environments, and customizable menu variations that respond to this generation’s evolving tastes.
Each of our new dining brands places emphasis on providing direct connections between students and culinary staff, fostering inclusivity and community, and promoting sustainability and shared values through food. With three distinct brands and 42 different stalls, Sodexo has something for everyone:
- One & All is more than just a place to eat. It’s the hub on campus and it’s designed with versatility in mind, providing formats, menus, and promotions that can easily flex according to student preferences.
- Foodiverse is an immersive food hall experience in a resident dining environment, showcasing authentic and made-for-me food stalls.
- Foodprint Foodhall is a premium, chef-driven dining experience — that also happens to be good for the planet — where students can connect over delectable food and shared values.
And best of all, each menu is built for flexibility and can be tailored depending on changing tastes, student-specific needs, and emerging trends.
Fueling a Generation of Foodies
Are your students craving chili crisp dishes? Decadent desserts? We’ve got ’em!
Is your campus all about dirty soda? Boba tea? Churro sundaes? Well, then you’re going to love our student-driven pop-up events.
Do your students crave authenticity? Awesome, because every new pop-up and innovative menu is designed to be served fresh and made-to-order by our amazing chefs and their teams as they answer questions, take requests, and make every meal just right. Our chefs are encouraged to be creative and bring the flavors of their background to life. With every bite, students, staff, and faculty get a taste of home or a quick dive into a global experience.
And to delight the overwhelming majority of higher education students (89%) who expect their school to accommodate their unique dietary needs, Sodexo’s elevated resident dining portfolio supports our continued commitment to dietary inclusivity. Every interaction and offering embraces the needs of individual students and their specific needs, ensuring their foodservice experience provides them with ready access to a variety of customizable options, including plant-based delights and meals made without allergens or gluten.
Want to Connect? Chill? We’ve Got a Mood for You!
As mentioned, Sodexo’s Culinary Innovation team views the entire dining experience holistically because our food is only part of the welcoming vibe that makes our dining spaces the hub of campus life.
Our dining concepts combine craveable food with flexible and varied seating arrangements, vibrant display elements with eclectic color palettes, and thoughtfully developed spaces that both streamline operations and welcome students with a clean, modern sensibility.
These new artistically inspired spaces bring friends together to grab a quick bite. They transform everyday experiences into meaningful moments as students find their voice and their people. And they make space for students to simply pull up a countertop stool, mellow out, and recharge for the day ahead. We’ve got something for every student, every taste, and every mood.
I hope you come back to our Inspired Thinking blog next month because I can’t wait to give you more of a preview into the exciting ways Sodexo is energizing today’s campus and giving students what they need to feel heard, seen, and valued.