University Catering
"A year in disaster mode, but also an opportunity"
Andreas Dubiel
Andreas Dubiel
Rarely used in 2020...
2020 was a year in disaster mode for university catering, and yet the department can show many positive and forward-looking results - just not in terms of meal numbers and job security for our long-serving staff*.The most difficult decision of the year was definitely not being able to renew the contracts of our 51 seasonal employees and to leave them unemployed for an indefinite period of time. But the economic situation left no alternative, as the turnover in the canteen during lockdown - on good days - was a maximum of 4% of the usual turnover. However, we continue to keep in touch with our seasonal staff and hope very much for better economic times for university catering and for the return of our often long-standing employees.At the same time, the canteen and cafeteria operations had to be kept running and we had to fight to prevent the consequences of the pandemic from affecting our permanent staff. This was a real tightrope act for the management team: on the one hand, reacting daily in disaster mode to ever-changing demands of the pandemic guidelines, and on the other hand, thinking about the future - the time after the pandemic. Only with the definite promise of the federal government to extend the short-time work benefit to 2021 could the remaining jobs in university catering finally be secured for the foreseeable future. After a short consolidation phase in the lockdown, our focus was on turning an uncertain present into a secure future. It quickly became clear to us that Corona had only accelerated the "digital university", but that it would become our task to adapt our future offerings to an increasingly digital teaching and a changed university landscape. On the 21st of December, we had to completely shut down the canteen operations at all canteens and cafeterias for economic reasons and have not opened our facilities since then. However, we have taken the opportunity to realign ourselves for the time after the pandemic.
Our 2020 Projects
In 2020, we were therefore able to successfully implement or tackle the following projects:
In 2020, we were therefore able to successfully implement or tackle the following projects:
- koeri[werk]
The purchase and installation of a mobile canteen vehicle allows us both to increasingly implement attractive promotions for our guests and to support canteen operations at locations where there are high guest numbers. The mobile kitchen, which cost 80,000 euros and is equipped for professional use, was successfully tested in November 2020 and will first support the locations in the new year where there may be disruptions to operations due to the canteen renovation. The koeri[werk] is a cooperation with the Studierendenwerk Karlsruhe and offers delicious currywurst with exotic spice mixtures. - New Canteen and Cafeteria open in Neustadt
At the Weincampus in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, a new location for our canteen and cafeteria services was opened in October 2020. The Studierendenwerk now supplies an additional 200 students, 301 pupils and 200 staff members with its complete range of products. The new canteen will be co-supplied by the kitchen in Landau.
The canteen at the Weincampus is our seventh canteen in the region. - Construction Measures
The move of the Studierendenwerk administration to Xylanderstraße 17 also clears the way for the renovation of the canteen at Landauer Fortstraße 7, where the kitchen, which is over 30 years old, will finally be adapted to modern standards and completely redesigned. The plan is that after the test operation of the container kitchen in summer 2021, we will be able to resume operations in time for the winter semester 2021. The canteen conversion is expected to be completed by 2023. - Opening of our new Beer Garden
Shortly before the lockdown, our beer garden at the Fortstraße location was also completed with new tables, benches and sunshades and briefly put into operation. The beer garden significantly enhances our offer at the location and is to be used more in the future. It is encouraging that we can start directly with our new menu for the winter semester 21, which also increasingly includes vegan cuisine. - Renovation in Bürgerstraße
In Landau, the complete reconstruction of the canteen and cafeteria at Bürgerstraße 23 has already been completed and is ready for reopening at the start of lectures in 2021. The cooperation with the university and the art faculty is particularly positive here. The students of the department will take over the artistic design of the dining hall. - New Building of the Canteen at Hochschule Ludwigshafen
In Ludwigshafen, the topping-out ceremony for the new university building at Ernst-Boehe-Straße 4 has already been celebrated and construction work is progressing swiftly. If all the work continues according to plan, we will be able to move into our new canteen in 2023. This is a real milestone for the Studierendenwerk. With the completion of the fully functioning canteen in Ludwigshafen, the supply of students in Ludwigshafen via the canteen kitchen in Germersheim will end. Of course, this also affects the canteen operation in Germersheim, where production will have to be adapted to the new, lower production figures. - Digital Screening
With the reopening in autumn, all canteens at all locations will be equipped with a digital food guidance system via monitors, fed directly from our inventory control system. This will allow us to strengthen customer communication and also announce changes in the menu directly from the canteen kitchen and without any delay. Furthermore, our customer feedback system has been expanded: In future, all customer feedback will reach the kitchen immediately in real time. This gives our staff the opportunity to react ad hoc to problems with the preparation or to customer opinions.
Conclusion
2020 was the most extraordinary year of my professional career, but at the end of it I also realised: The Studierendenwerk can withstand situations that are basically unbearable. The year demanded the maximum from all of us. But a top team with a top commitment held out brilliantly and proved to be effective and reliable even during a crisis.No one expected the state to flood us with money during the crisis, but we would have liked the state of Rhineland-Palatinate to have said "We are here for you", or to have shown an interest in the situation of the Studierendenwerk and to have clearly stated that the "Studierendenwerke are relevant". We demand that in the future the Studierendenwerk is not seen as an accessory to the universities, but sits at the table as a relevant component of the university landscape at eye level when the university landscape of the future is debated. After all, we are the social backbone without which successful studies are not possible.We have sorely missed this inclusion of our work in decision-making and it has unsettled our team more than necessary. Meetings held about the higher education landscape of the future largely took place without us. This cannot be the right way and has led to great disappointment in my team. Forecast
What long-term effects the pandemic - for example, through increased digital study - will have on smaller canteen locations in the future cannot be foreseen at present. What is clear, however, is that a wide range of gastronomic offerings is only possible if the number of guests is sufficient. I fear that small locations will not be able to survive a further decline in guest numbers economically. It is currently impossible to predict how the number of guests will develop in the future. In our opinion, declining meal numbers are to be expected. This makes it even clearer: We will have to fight even harder for every guest in the future. But our customers also have to "vote with their feet" how important the food on campus is to them and support their "local hero" Studierendenwerk. It won't work without an appeal to the solidarity of staff and guests. We will definitely continue to improve the quality to keep a visit to the canteen or cafeteria attractive.My wish for the future would be: Finally, stable meal and guest numbers again and a structural debate with the state of Rhineland-Palatinate about the Studierendenwerk of the future conducted at eye level. We are aware that we have to change, at the latest since Corona. Now we need support on the way there.
2020 was the most extraordinary year of my professional career, but at the end of it I also realised: The Studierendenwerk can withstand situations that are basically unbearable. The year demanded the maximum from all of us. But a top team with a top commitment held out brilliantly and proved to be effective and reliable even during a crisis.No one expected the state to flood us with money during the crisis, but we would have liked the state of Rhineland-Palatinate to have said "We are here for you", or to have shown an interest in the situation of the Studierendenwerk and to have clearly stated that the "Studierendenwerke are relevant". We demand that in the future the Studierendenwerk is not seen as an accessory to the universities, but sits at the table as a relevant component of the university landscape at eye level when the university landscape of the future is debated. After all, we are the social backbone without which successful studies are not possible.We have sorely missed this inclusion of our work in decision-making and it has unsettled our team more than necessary. Meetings held about the higher education landscape of the future largely took place without us. This cannot be the right way and has led to great disappointment in my team. Forecast
What long-term effects the pandemic - for example, through increased digital study - will have on smaller canteen locations in the future cannot be foreseen at present. What is clear, however, is that a wide range of gastronomic offerings is only possible if the number of guests is sufficient. I fear that small locations will not be able to survive a further decline in guest numbers economically. It is currently impossible to predict how the number of guests will develop in the future. In our opinion, declining meal numbers are to be expected. This makes it even clearer: We will have to fight even harder for every guest in the future. But our customers also have to "vote with their feet" how important the food on campus is to them and support their "local hero" Studierendenwerk. It won't work without an appeal to the solidarity of staff and guests. We will definitely continue to improve the quality to keep a visit to the canteen or cafeteria attractive.My wish for the future would be: Finally, stable meal and guest numbers again and a structural debate with the state of Rhineland-Palatinate about the Studierendenwerk of the future conducted at eye level. We are aware that we have to change, at the latest since Corona. Now we need support on the way there.
Your contact person for this department
Andreas Dubiel
Head of University Catering
Xylanderstraße 17
76829 Landau
Phone: +49 6341 9179 140
mensa@stw-vp.de
mensa.stw-vp.de
Andreas Dubiel
Head of University Catering
Xylanderstraße 17
76829 Landau
Phone: +49 6341 9179 140
mensa@stw-vp.de
mensa.stw-vp.de