In 2022, we further changed the menu concept towards sustainability. There is less meat, but it is of high quality. We have also been reporting the carbon footprint and water footprint of each dish since October.
The canteens and coffee bars in 2022
Further improving sustainability
The year 2023 brought big things for the canteens and coffee bars studierendenWERK BERLIN a year of changes and innovations. A central aspect of these changes was the change in the menu, which was carried out in October 2021 and adjusted again in 2022.
There are now two veggie days, Monday and Wednesday. We only serve meat as an alternative on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and fish as an alternative on Fridays. The concept is working: Sales figures from 2022 show that 75% of our guests choose vegan dishes, followed by 16% vegetarian dishes and 9% meat or fish dishes. We were awarded the Future Prize at the international trade fair INTERNORGA in the “Gastronomy and Hotel Industry” category for our new food concept.
The realignment of the menu was also accompanied by a focus on higher quality meat. We now only offer meat from pigs raised regionally (type 4) and beef from type 3. Our poultry meat also comes predominantly from farming method 4.
Since October 2022, we have also been reporting the CO2 and water footprints of all our dishes. This provides students with even better support in choosing sustainable dishes. The technical implementation is carried out in collaboration with the company Eaternity.
Despite significant challenges caused by crop failures and delivery bottlenecks, which led to short-term menu changes and quality compromises, we were able to maintain a diverse offering in 2022. Delivery bottlenecks for technical equipment also presented us with challenges, but these were also overcome.
There are pasta machines in the TU cafeteria Hardenbergstraße, Mensa FU II, in the Canteen North and in the Canteen at the BHT.
We now produce our own fresh vegan pasta with great success at four locations. In a full semester week, around 2.175 kg of these noodles are produced here. They are not only more environmentally friendly, but also more energy efficient than dry pasta due to the shorter cooking time.
In October 2022, the HU Unter den Linden cafeteria was finally able to resume operations after a long closure (the cause was a fire in December 2021). The cafeteria at ASH also opened in October 2022 after a long closure with a Click & Collect offer.
The interior of the Shokudō cafeteria was adapted to the new concept.
At some other locations, closures were carried out in close coordination with the respective universities.
The Shokudō Japanese cafeteria opened in December 2022 with Japanese fusion cuisine, which was very well received by students.
Also in December we received the Fit Kid certificate from the German Nutrition Society for lunch meals in the daycare center.
A Späti pilot successfully started at FU II in the 2022 reporting period.
Outlook:
Even though meal participation in Berlin's canteens has not yet reached the level of 2019, we see significant improvements and expect a further increase in 2023. New vending machine concepts to supply partially warm food are also planned for four locations in the coming year .
Canteen numbers for 2022 at a glance
The number of guests in the canteens has recovered well compared to the pandemic years, but was only 2019 percent of the number of guests compared to 50 (the last year before the pandemic).
This trend is also reflected in sales: Although it has increased significantly compared to the pandemic years, in the 2022 reporting year it is around half of the sales from 2019. The amount of an average voucher (the amount in euros that a guest spends on average in the amount spent in a cafeteria during a visit) increased slightly in 2022 and is now an average of 3,06 euros.
In 2022, students were also able to receive the daily plate for 1,45 euros. The price range of the student price has remained the same for the standard meals.
The number of table seats, however, has decreased slightly in 2022.