Eating habits are changing among college students—and the Luther cafeteria is trying to meet that change

"Artisan pizzas" at the Luther Cafeteria

It is not just the furniture that is new at the Luther College Cafeteria this fall.  Increasingly the food itself is being prepared in new ways, with new ingredients.

Luther Dining Services General Manager Wayne Tudor says students are now "so much more aware" about food issues and ask lots of questions about ingredients and cooking methods.

As a result, Luther Dining Services has changed its cooking techniques and now makes many of its foods from scratch.  Tudor says canned food is a thing of the past as the food service has begun making its own alfredo sauces, marinara sauces and pizza sauces.

For instance, the pizzas in the student cafeteria are now made from scratch, which includes the pizza crusts and the pizza sauce.  Tudor calls the result "artisan pizzas," and says the cafeteria has gone from serving an average of 50 pizzas each meal to an average of 150 pizzas.

Another change that has been greeted favorably by students has been a switch to using entirely grass-fed beef.

Tudor says a good deal of the switch to making food from scratch was brought about by the dietary needs of students who are gluten intolerant or lactose intolerant or have other food issues.  The students began asking questions about the ingredients in the food.  In order to be able to answer those questions, the Luther Dining Services had to control all the ingredients from the start of the process.

The cafeteria now has stickers posted next to foods that are gluten-free or lactose-free, for example.  It's part of an overall effort by Luther Dining Services to accommodate a variety of needs among a variety of students.