Mid-Plains Community College is starting the fall semester with a new food service provider as well as a new, more convenient card system.
Fresh Ideas, the new food service management company, prides itself on creating innovative dining service programs for colleges and universities. Its goal is to deliver not only an exceptional culinary experience, but also to provide excellent customer service and increase campus engagement.
“We were with our previous food service provider for 16 years,” said Mike Steele, area vice president of administrative services. “Based on input from students and staff, and the fact that if you’ve been with a company for a long time it’s always a good idea to see what else is on the market, we decided to explore other options.”
The task was given to a team of students, staff from the college’s Student Life and Business and Community Education departments and campus vice presidents. Three food service companies submitted proposals, which the team evaluated. The team also toured the dining facilities associated with each company, tasted the food and conducted formal interviews.
“Fresh Ideas was the overwhelming choice,” Steele said. “The food quality is fantastic, and the team was also impressed with the overall structure, management and safety protocols the company has in place. Fresh Ideas sets high expectations.”
Rusty Anderson, Fresh Ideas director of dining services, said Fresh Ideas is excited to be part of one of the Top 10 community colleges in the country.
“The MPCC staff have all been extremely welcoming and helpful,” said Anderson. “We look forward to providing years of quality service to both the school and the communities that we serve.”
Food will be available through a MPCC Dine-Out mobile ordering app by mid-semester, and plans are to also offer catering services to the community.
“I think I speak for all students when I say we are extremely excited to eat the food from and be greeted by the staff of Fresh Ideas,” said Mackenzie Anderson, MPCC student in McCook. “They really care about their product and put forth the utmost effort possible. We are thankful to the college for providing us with this awesome food service.”
The public is invited to eat at the college’s dining halls in North Platte and McCook at any time, and a premium night will soon be available. Once a month, the public will be able to enjoy a high-end meal for a minimal price.
The mobile ordering option is part of a new card system that MPCC implemented this year through electronic commerce platform Transact.
“We began working with Transact because we had a need for new meal plan software,” Steele said. “The other services Transact was able to provide will take our student and staff interaction to the next level.”
A new, one-card system, known as the Mid-Plains Campus Card, is now in place for MPCC students and employees. That means they can use their identification cards to handle the majority of their access needs on campus.
The Campus Cards can be used by students living on campus to deduct meals eaten from board plans while commuter students and employees can add funds to their campus card and save carrying cash for their meals at the college’s dining halls. The campus card will allow access to print from campus printers and even buy snacks at concession stands.
Students will also swipe their cards to record attendance in study sessions and at college events, which gives coaches as well as student life and student services staff the ability to observe engagement.
“We can make sure that students are eating, and that we’re providing the right activities for them based on their level of interest,” Steele said. “An engaged student is a successful student.”
Representatives from Transact are just as appreciative of the partnership with MPCC as the college is of them.
“It’s a pleasure to collaborate with the leadership team at Mid-Plains,” said Robert Schroeder, senior account executive for Transact. “The school has created a superior student experience on par with some of Transact’s most well-known client schools like the University of Nebraska/Lincoln, Yale and Harvard.”
Additional information about the Mid-Plains Campus Card is available at: mpcc.edu/financial-services/mid-plains-campus-card.
More information about Fresh Ideas can be found online at freshideasfood.com. Information about Transact can be found at transactcampus.com.