A Roadmap Towards Best Practice Enhancement in University Canteens

This chapter presents an empirical study aimed at identifying the best practices for improving university canteen services. Firstly, existing practices within the school canteen system were mapped, with a focus on a case study in the province of Bari. The results of this analysis informed the design of an online, structured questionnaire which was administered to 349 users of the University of Bari Aldo Moro canteens. The questionnaire covered five main areas: quality of food on offer, sensory quality of meals, sustainability, organisation of services and environmental comfort, and interest in additional services. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and cross-sectional analyses by subgroup, namely gender, age, and area of residence. The results highlighted specific areas for improvement, namely: improving menu variety and sensory quality; strengthening the sustainability of the supply chain by adopting local and organic production methods; providing incentives for conscious and informed participation through management committees and nutritional counselling services. Finally, better organisation of the service and greater environmental comfort were found to generate greater user satisfaction. Overall, the findings provide a solid empirical basis for translating user perceptions into targeted, context-sensitive best practices and support the development of a participatory Manifesto for improving university canteen services.