UMass Dining serves over 50,000 meals a day and has held the top spot in Princeton Review’s college dining rankings for nine consecutive years. Garrett DiStefano joins Sojo Alex to talk about what comes after that kind of track record, and why the answer isn’t more space or more stations.

Garrett explains how UMass is rethinking customization stations, like their popular tandoor and Mongolian grill setups, to be flexible enough to move across dayparts without requiring a remodel every time student preferences shift. He also discusses the challenge of training a workforce of 1,000 student employees, many with no prior job experience, and how UMass is using AI not just to track food waste, but to measure which specific menu items resonate with students.

Key themes in this episode: operational flexibility, workforce training, dining technology.