Food delivery right to your dorm door

Food delivery(dəˈliv(ə)rē) right to your dorm(dôrm) door

How some campus(ˈkampəs) dining(dīn) halls(hôl) are competing(kəmˈpēt) with GrubHub(grəb)

By Janelle(jənal) Nanos(ˈnanō)

There was a time when the only sure thing about college dining was packing(ˈpakiNG) on the freshman(ˈfreSHmən) 15. A typical(ˈtipikəl) dinner(ˈdinər) meant(ment) mystery(ˈmist(ə)rē) meat(mēt) or soggy(ˈsägē) pasta(ˈpastə,ˈpästə), then hours goofing(go͞of) off around a communal(kəˈmyo͞onl,ˈkämyənəl) table. If dining halls were where memories were made, the recollections(ˌrekəˈlekSHən) aren’t of urgency(ˈərjənsē) or good food.

But a funny(ˈfənē) thing happened from those generations to now. Health-conscious(ˈkän(t)SHəs) students raised(rāzd) on restaurant(ˈrest(ə)rənt,ˈrestəˌränt,ˈresˌtränt) food are being plied(plī) with quinoa(ˈkēnwä) bowls(bōlz) and gourmet(ˌgo͝or-,ˌgôrˈmā) coffees(ˈkäfē,ˈkôfē) prepared by cafeteria(ˌkafiˈti(ə)rēə) chefs(SHef) and baristas(bəˈrēstə). Quality(ˈkwälədē) not being enough, schools are taking things further(ˈfərT͟Hər), offering(äf-,ˈôf(ə)riNG) Starbucks-style apps for students to order ahead(əˈhed), grab-and-go gourmet meals to reheat(hēt) in rooms, and cafeteria food delivered right to dorms.

Which explains why Kelsey Bishop(ˈbiSHəp), a finance(fəˈnans,ˈfīnans) and entrepreneurship major at Boston(ˈbôstən) College, thinks it’s entirely(ənˈtī(ə)rlē) normal to sit in her morning Financial(fī-,fəˈnanCHəl) Policy(ˈpäləsē) class and tap her order into an app for a veggie(ˈvejē) omelet(ˈäm(ə)lət) for pickup at the school’s Hillside(ˈhilˌsīd) Cafeteria. The senior(ˈsēnyər) will use the app again to skip the line and order soup a few hours later. And sometimes picking up food can seem like too much work, so after late nights out, she and her roommates will tap their phone and, voila(vwäˈlä), breakfast(ˈbrekfəst) is delivered from the dining hall to her dorm — like room service in a four-star hotel, minus(ˈmīnəs) the linen(ˈlinin)-draped(drāp) tray(trā).

BC is hardly alone(əˈlōn) on the frontiers(ˌfrənˈti(ə)r) of dining convenience(kənˈvēnyəns). From Amherst(ˈam(h)ərst) to Cambridge, there are gourmet-to-go meal cases and online ordering for the dining hall grill(gril) stations(ˈstāSHən). Last week, there was even a campuswide ruckus(ˈrəkəs) at Harvard when a glitch(gliCH) in the software system left students unable to preorder(priˈôrdər) their grilled cheese(CHēz) sandwiches(ˈsanˌ(d)wiCH).

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https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/04/04/food-fight-colleges-take-uber-eats-with-apps-and-dorm-delivery/lMtGHEpv38cOBzbd63gUfL/story.html