The Online Reflector

A recent ranking found University of Indianapolis to have one of the best dining services in the nation, according to The Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast is an online website that gives its readers a quick overview of the news around the world.

The site ranked UIndy food in the top 25, next to colleges such as Purdue University, Washington University in St. Louis and Boston College.

Polk Food Service Inc. Director Ted Polk said that he was not aware that the ranking had taken place and was very surprised to hear the news.

“I got an e-mail from [Director of Media Relations] Scott Hall telling me about it,” Polk said.  “It pumped up my staff.  They were very happy.”

According to The Daily Beast, standings were based on several factors. Students voted on the website College Prowler to pick the best campus dining.   UIndy earned a B+ on its campus dining.

Students were asked to rate UIndy dining by factors such as its quality, late night options, value and availability.  This was done through student survey responses, open-ended student reviews and statistical data.  The Daily Beast factored these votes by making them part of 45 percent of the ranking.

One of the final considerations (20 percent) included how much colleges spent on local and organic foods.

According to Polk, PFS buys locally if  it can.  Most of the produce comes from Midwestern farms, including Indiana.  PFS tries to buy as much organic food as its budget allows.

“We do not buy too much organic because of the expense, but have used some products and are planning an event during lunch where local organic farmers will pass out their products,” Polk said.

According to Polk, PFS tries to expand its menu all the time.  One change  being made this year was adding a fifth meal cycle to the previous four.

PFS has a variety of items to fill 15 hot wells each meal plus four hot wells in the expo cooking station. One Monday lunch will be the same every fifth week.

PFS also has introduced more than 30 new foods this year.  Some of the new dishes include vegan and vegetarian wraps, pecan crusted chicken breast and shrimp cocktail.

Freshman biology major Danielle Campbell said she likes the way PFS always has something different for each meal on a daily basis.

“I think PFS always keeps their food fresh and cooked to order. You don’t have to worry about coming in to cold food or worry that they’ll run out,” Campbell said.

Polk credits his success over the years on his staff’s strength, coming from their great diversity and skills.

“The average tenure for my full time staff is over 13 years, which is very unusual in a restaurant situation,” Polk said.  “They all care about doing the best possible job for the students.”