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Many schools now offering a 'fourth meal'

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

More colleges and universities are either offering, or considering, a “fourth meal” option to serve those students who may either have been unable to eat at regular hours during the day or who simply get the hungry while studying late into the night or early morning.

According to QSR Magazine, some schools offer late-night venues that are part of residence dining. Others are seeking off-campus support from nearby restaurants to meet the demand.


Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, has 11 dining options for 1,800 students, including a “library café” which is open until midnight. “Turns out the library—believe it or not—is a place where they hang out,” says a spokesperson for the school’s food service provider. “It’s been very popular with the kids.”

Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, has a late night eatery in one of its residence halls. That proved so popular it has since opened another late night dining option in another residence hall.

At Temple University in Philadelphia, a fourth-meal option is even part of its dining hall package. The service is offered Sunday through Friday, from 8 p.m. to midnight, at all three of its dining halls. Another school has what it calls “Nite Owl Cafes,” where students can automatically deduct transaction amounts from their campus cards.

Read more at QSR Magazine here[end] 

Biometric technology expedites lunch lines

By Ross Mathis, Contributing Editor, AVISIAN Publications

The Pinellas County School Board District in Clearwater, Fla. has paired up with technology provider Fujitsu Frontech North America to provide a reliable and secure method of handling school food service program transactions.

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Payment terminal provider VeriFone Systems is riding out the European debt crisis with positive numbers for the fourth quarter, all while rapidly rolling out payment terminal installations in Latin America, reports American Banker.

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In an attempt to prevent students from sharing their ID cards in the cafeteria meal line, the University of Maine at Orono has deployed hand scanners.

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High schools in Jefferson County, W.V. will be implementing biometric finger scanning in an effort to provide security for the students’ cafeteria accounts. Purpose of the program, according to school officials, is to eliminate clerical errors and to provide students with an easy way to identify themselves when using the cafeteria.

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Munroe Elementary School in Tallmadge, Ohio is upgrading its cafeteria to be cash-free when the students return form winter break relying instead on biometrics for students to access accounts for their food, according to a Tallmadge Express article.

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Maui High School, located in Kahului, Hawaii, has adopted an automated meal card system now requiring students to use their student ID when purchasing meals in the cafeteria.

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