Wednesday, Jun 30, 2021
National Association of College & University Food Services recognizes excellence in dining services of universities
by Adam Grybowski
Rider Dining received a gold award from this year’s Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards in the category of Residential Dining Concepts. The criteria upon which entries were judged included menu; merchandising and food presentation; marketing; and nutrition and wellness.
“This recognition is only made possible through the dedication of our staff to serving the needs of the Rider community,” says Mike Reca, vice president of facilities and university operations. “I’m grateful for everyone who puts in their best effort, day in and day out, to achieve that goal.”
The Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards are named after a founder and past president of the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS). The association promotes excellence in collegiate dining through educational programming and professional networking.
The awards celebrate exemplary menus, presentations, special event planning and new dining concepts. The winners are broken down into small, medium and large institutions. Rider was recognized as a “small institution.”
Rider's food and dining services are operated by Gourmet Dining, which provides an abundance of options around campus. Facilities include Daly Dining Hall, Cranberry's, Starbucks and The Pub. Gourmet’s services include a food truck called Bronc Bites; a teaching kitchen and in-house dietician; and a station in Daly Dining Hall that is free of eight major food allergens. It uses the Grubhub app to let students order ahead for pickup or dining in.
Gourmet has been actively involved supporting on-campus programs that help those in need, such as Meals on Wheels of Mercer County and the Rider Pantry, and contributing to new projects and initiatives, such as the creation of an outdoor deck outside the Student Recreation Center and a recently announced partnership between Rider and the Philadelphia coffee company Saxbys.
“As it is to every community, food is of extreme importance to the people who live, work and learn at Rider University,” says Anthony Frungillo, executive vice president of Gourmet Dining. "We are very proud to be recognized and look forward to continuing to grow and evolve the program.”