Hope College Dining Services has won a gold award in the 2020 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards program of the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS).
The dining service has received gold in the category of Residential Dining Concepts for medium institutions. Named for a NACUFS founder, past president, and highly regarded innovator, the dining awards celebrate exemplary menus, presentations, special event planning, and new dining concepts, and provide an avenue for sharing ideas and creative presentations in campus dining services.
A total of 58 member institutions across North America submitted entries in six categories, including Residential Dining Concepts, Residential Dining Facility, Residential Dining—Special Event, Retail Sales—Single Concept/Multiple Concepts/Marketplace, Catering—Special Event, and Catering—Online Menu. A team of six judges and a committee chair examined each entry and selected top candidates in each category. All winners are listed on the NACUFS website at NACUFS.org. Grand Prize winners will be announced at a later date.
“This award commends the efforts of so many talented professionals on our team who are focused daily on providing the best possible experience for our students, guests and alumni,” said Dan Zehr, director of residential and retail dining. “I am thrilled that their efforts have been recognized and that we can continue to be active participants in developing young adults for lives of leadership and service.”
Hope dining services programs have received several awards through the years, including most recently the national grand prize in the Residential Dining Concepts category in 2019 for excellence in offering international cuisine; a gold award in the Residential Dining Concepts category in 2018; honorable mention in the Residential Dining-Special Event category in 2017; and a silver award in the Residential Dining-Special Event category in 2016.
The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) was founded in 1958 by a group of college and university foodservice professionals from across the United States. Since its inception, NACUFS has focused on its mission to support and promote excellence in collegiate dining by providing members with the programs and resources they need to excel, from benchmarking and best practices to educational programming and professional networking.
NACUFS institutional members include private colleges to large public universities, and two-year colleges to four-year universities and span the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and beyond. Industry members include food and equipment manufacturers, distributors, brokers, foodservice support companies, councils, boards, trade associations, advisory commissions, and other professional groups. More information is available at NACUFS.org.