Organizing a Cafeteria at my College Need Your Help

[poppe]

I need your help.

My College is a very small school (400 people) and we, at the moment, only have a vending machines and the local gas station for our cafeteria. Recently, I was elected Student Body President, so I am working on getting us a cafeteria. Not a full manned private cook with 3 meals a day, but just something student manned: chips, sodas, cookies, hot dogs on the roller things, pizza, chicken sandwiches, hamburgers, etc. - The unhealthy stuff.

Basically what I am trying to get something along the lines of what a gas station would have.

We are a nonprofit organization (if that means anything). Do you all know any ideas or tips on getting food and started for all this?

 

[iSaint]

It's definitely a lot of work! Is the administration helping you on this?

For food in bulk, contact a food distributor such as US Foodservice. Their salesperson will help you with some equipment, too. Do you have a place to store the food? A place to set this up? I don't want to down you, but it's quite an undertaking.

 

[poppe]

It's definitely a lot of work! Is the administration helping you on this?

For food in bulk, contact a food distributor such as US Foodservice. Their salesperson will help you with some equipment, too. Do you have a place to store the food? A place to set this up? I don't want to down you, but it's quite an undertaking.

Administration will help us. If we have all our ducks in a row they will help us more. They actually love helping the students but only when they only have to sign the checks; not when they have to contact and figure out everything.

We have room and our campus is ever expanding, so we would by the huge freezers/fridges. And we are allocating space for the set up right now. The administration has always wanted this, but when the students get back behind it they have a hard time of finding excuses not to get it immediately.

 

[adk]

Many gas stations get all of their merchandise from one distributing company. In the Midwest, many use Farner-Bocken, but I doubt they're in california. Try looking there first - it would be much simpler to have all of the supplies arrive in one order. Are you hoping for this service to be run by volunteers or student employees?

 

[poopyhead]

you can also check out Sam's club or another one of the warehouse club stores. They sell all of the vending supplies and machines you need (many independent gas stations and small mom and pop business rely on them) and there is a decent chance that your school is already a member so they could probably get a decent discount on bulk orders and delivery.