CHICAGO, March, 27, 2026 - Never mind AI. Anyone looking for a preview of how college students are likely to dine tomorrow need only consider what Jeff Palmer is doing today at the University of California San Diego.
The executive director of dining and retail for the 45,000-student facility is using the data generated from serving 9 million meals annually to keep his 21-outlet operation in line with evolving preferences.
That can mean trying what few other colleges have dared, like creating a dining facility that celebrates the culinary influences people from south and southwest Africa brought with them to the New World. Part of the mission is introducing students to foundational elements of southern American and Caribbean cooking, a reflection of the university’s efforts to extend education into its dining rooms.
Each of the school’s 21 foodservice outlets is a different concept, with considerable variety. In addition to the option celebrating the African diaspora, the campus features a Glatt kosher dining room and what’s believed to be the nation’s largest facility serving certified halal fare. A special program focuses on the 90 students who have food allergies.
The array of options also extends to accommodating students who want to cook for themselves. Unlike many colleges and universities, UC San Diego has seen its enrollment grow by leaps and bounds in recent years, prompting the school to build more student housing. The new accommodations routinely feature kitchens, which can now be found in about half the units serving UC San Diego’s 24,700 students living in campus housing. About 18,500 are on a meal plan.
“Surprisingly, we're feeding 50% through a residential dining program and 50% through our markets,” or on-campus food stores where students can get their kitchen supplies if they want to cook, Palmer notes. Those markets are also part of his purview.
Collectively, Palmer’s department generates total sales of about $100 million annually.
Many of the challenges he faces are familiar to any college-and-university foodservices director. Palmer's responses? Far less so.
He’s addressed the imperative of operating more sustainably, for instance, by switching from single-use disposables to versions that can be reused. The switch to OZZI’s reuse system reduced the university’s disposal of one-and-done packages by 2 million units. Under the set-up, students return the plastic OZZI container to a special receptacle that rewards them with a token and cleans the soiled item. That token is then redeemed for a clean package for the student’s next order.
Six of the school’s new facilities have a Gold or Platinum LEED certifications attesting to their sustainable construction, and Palmer has steered the school toward all-electric kitchens.
One of the 21 foodservice facilities uses an anaerobic “digester” to turn food scraps into biogas and soil nutrients.
All told, his Green Waste Initiative has reduced food waste by 50% in four years.
Labor costs are also on the list of standard concerns. Palmer managed to reduce his expenses by 30% through the adoption of two key technologies: Amazon’s Just Walk Out Markets, the c-stores that use technology to eliminate the need for a cashier, and a mobile ordering app. Today, about 86% of restaurant orders from students and faculty are placed through the app, and the three Walk Outs are reportedly generating annual sales of $25 million.
Palmer came to UC San Diego seven years ago after a successful career in the restaurant business. His past roles included serving as area developer for the Flying Star Cafe fast-casual chain, overseeing restaurant operations in several airports, leading the food and beverage operations of a Hyatt resort, and working as managing chef of the Macaroni Grill in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It was a 36-year journey that began at age 13, washing dishes in his parents’ Las Vegas catering business. That experience led him to a bachelor’s degree in hospitality administration and management from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Palmer is serving as this year’s chairman of the College & University Foodservice Leadership Council, one of five operator discussion groups that operate under the auspices of IFMA The Food Away from Home Association. Participants share their best practices for handling shared challenges, along with the occasional gripe about the obstacles facing their sector.
The forum also serves as a think tank about emerging trends.
Right now, the current that has Palmer’s attention is a focus on the authentic cuisines of various cultures. The goal is ”not diving into a grayed-out or Americanized version of everything, but looking at the roots of the food, where it came from, honoring the ingredients, focusing on seasonality.”
The emphasis on authenticity extends to the use of ingredients that may not be familiar to students or the foodservice department’s 1,365 employees.
“Our students in this next generation coming out are much more worldly than we ever were,” says Palmer, this year’s winner of the Silver Plate Award in the college and university sector. “They've experienced a lot, and they don't just want to try the same chicken tenders and pizzas and hot dogs.
“They love those things, but they're also looking for so much more these days.”
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.