Diversity of Main Dishes of Menus at University Faculty Cafeterias

This study investigated the main dishes of menus at university faculty cafeterias to understand current lunch menu trends. A sample of 1040 menus was collected from Internet homepages of 52 universities between March and May, 2014. The main dishes of menus were categorized into six groups based on main ingredients and cooking methods. The most frequently served main dish ingredient was pork followed by fish/seafood, and poultry. Pork dishes and chicken dishes were mainly roasted, pan fried, or deep fried with various carbohydrate ingredients to bulk them up. Large amounts of chili pepper, corn syrup, and oil were added to improve the bland flavor of these dishes, which contain starchy ingredients. In contrast to pork dishes or chicken dishes, 40.2% of beef dishes was served in a more traditional way as soup. Fewer kinds of fish or seafood were used, and the cooking methods also lacked diversity. In conclusion, main dish menus at university faculty cafeterias have undergone changes in terms of ingredients and cooking methods. Meat dishes cooked using traditional methods are becoming less common, especially for pork and chicken dishes, which are quite sweet, salty, and spicy. Extensive use of carbohydrate ingredients was found in some meat dishes and side dishes in one-dish meals.

Price Elasticity Analysis of University Students in Foodservice Operations for Pricing Policy / 대한지역사회영양학회지

The purpose of this study were to : (a) analyzed price elasticity of university students in foodservice operations and (b)provide insight for price decision-making. Questionnaires were composed of price elasticity, the utilization and opinions of students on university foodservice operations, and demographic information regarding respondents. The questionnaires were distributed to 600 university students of 6 universities located in Seoul. Statistical data analysis was completed using the SAS package for descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation. The results of this study can be summarized as follows: The average price for lunch was 1,663 won for campus food, and 2,965 won for off-campus restaurants. The frequency of utilizing the university cafeteria was fairly high. Students felt that the proper price for lunch was 1,446 won, presenting a lower price than the actual average price for lunch. The price elasticity was investigated in relation to the change in utilization rate when these was a price increase. The price elasticity was 2.03, with significant differences between sex, age, and major. The groups utilizing the university cafeteria frequently, taking longer time to go to off-campus or that were satisfied with the university cafeteria, had a lower price elasticity than those that did not. The results of this study suggest that predicting the price elasticity of the target market would assist the pricing policy, and the fact that the same students have different price elasticity by place and atmosphere can be used in marketing strategies.