Kennesaw State University among nation’s “Best Colleges for Food in America”
Rave reviews from students and national reputation lead to top 10 ranking
KENNESAW, Ga. (…
Georgia
(Sep 17, 2012) —
Rave reviews from students and national reputation lead to top 10 ranking
KENNESAW, Ga. (Sept. 17, 2012) —And the accolades just keep on comin’.
The Daily Meal, an online publication dedicated to culinary trends and news, ranked Kennesaw State
University’s Culinary and Hospitality Services10th in its “52 Best Colleges for Food in America” and the only university in Georgia
to place in the top ten. This is the third national recognition for Kennesaw State’s
dining program in the past year.
“This year, The Daily Meal went big, setting out to determine the best in campus dining across the nation –
from small liberal arts colleges to Big 10 mega-universities,” wrote editor Nina Fomufod.
“In an epic study that spanned the entire summer, we examined the dining programs
at every four-year college in America – more than 2,000 of them.”
In determining the methodology for the ranking, the publication looked at Kennesaw
State’s dining program as a whole. Students raved about the food at The Commons, the
University’s dining facility operated by Culinary and Hospitality Services. Kennesaw
State has a national reputation for freshness and sustainability which also helped
boost its ranking as among the very best in the nation.
“Everything we do is in small batches – we cook nothing in advance,” said Gary Coltek,
director of Culinary and Hospitality Services. “The Food Network has made our business
a sexy business. Today’s students demand good food, and they demand to know where
it comes from.”
According to Coltek, The Commons currently makes all soups from scratch, smokes its
own meats and fish, makes its own pickles and makes all breads in house including
sliced white and wheat breads.
This past summer, Kennesaw State joined Stanford and the University of Massachusetts
in receiving top honors from the National Association of College and Food Services
(NACUFS) for sustainability outreach and education. The 2012 bronze medal award, presented
July 12 in Boston, recognized the University’s Sustainable Food Program, which includes
a farm-to-campus initiative it launched in 2010.
In addition, in 2011 Kennesaw State was ranked among the top 25 schools for best food
by Newsweek.
“Buying and sourcing locally takes commitment, but our school is a successful example
of what can happen when everyone is on board,” Coltek said. “Sustainability has been
a guiding principle from the very beginning, and it permeates everything we do, from
the way we produce and prepare food, to how we handle waste, as well as the steps
we take to educate and engage our campus and local community.”
Through its farm-to-campus program, Kennesaw State harvests honey from 42 bee colonies
and began growing heirloom varieties of vegetables and herbs on a two-acre organic
farm. It also added a second 40-acre farm with a 4,000-square-foot greenhouse in 2011.
Plans include programs to produce aged cheese and organic dairy, olive orchards and
oil press on the farm.
“We hope to inspire other schools and institutions with our story and help them understand
that a large-scale sustainability program can work,” Coltek said.
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Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering 80
graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business and
nursing, and a new Ph.D. in international conflict management. A member of the 35-unit
University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a comprehensive, residential institution
with a growing population of 24,100 students from more than 130 countries.
A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its approximately 38,000 students. With 13 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the third-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 92 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status, and one of the 50 largest public institutions in the country. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
