Why campuses need a different approach
University campuses are unlike restaurants. A single campus may operate 6–12 catering outlets across different buildings — each with its own menu, opening hours, and student queue. Students need to see which outlets are open and order from them without leaving a lecture or waiting in a queue.
Third-party delivery platforms (Deliveroo, Just Eat) are not designed for closed campus environments. They charge commission, operate on public addressing systems, and cannot integrate with student account systems. A licensed ordering platform built for the campus context is the correct solution.
Campus-specific features
Multi-outlet ordering
All campus catering outlets accessible from one ordering interface. Students see live availability across all outlets.
Dietary & allergen filtering
Full allergen labelling per item. Filter by vegan, halal, gluten-free, nut-free. Natasha's Law compliant.
Collection time slots
Students pre-order with a collection time. Kitchens are notified in advance. No queue, no wait — collect and go.
Student account top-up
Integration with student ID cards and pre-paid account balances. Top up online, spend at any campus outlet.
Subsidised pricing rules
Configure pricing tiers for staff, students, and visitors. Apply discounts by account type automatically.
Central menu management
Update menus, prices, and availability across all outlets from a single back-office. No per-outlet login required.
Reporting by outlet & period
Sales reports per outlet, per day, per term. Integration with finance systems for budget reconciliation.
Kitchen Display Screen
Each outlet kitchen has its own KDS showing only its orders. Multi-outlet, single system, zero confusion.
The licensing model for universities
Public sector and education procurement typically requires capital expenditure with predictable total cost of ownership. A monthly SaaS subscription does not suit this model — it creates ongoing revenue line items that require annual budget approval and accumulate over time.
Food-Ordering.com is a one-time software licence. The university pays once and owns the software outright. There are no per-transaction fees, no annual licence renewal, and no platform commission on orders. Optional hosting and support are available at nominal rates.
Allergen compliance for higher education
Natasha's Law (Food Information Amendment (England) Regulations 2021) requires full ingredient and allergen labelling on all pre-packed foods. For catering operations, the 14 major allergens must be disclosed for every item sold. Food-Ordering.com's menu system includes allergen fields for every item, displays allergens at the point of order, and captures acknowledgement before checkout for high-allergen items.
Frequently asked questions
How many catering outlets can the system manage?
Unlimited. The licence covers all catering outlets on the campus. A university running 15 outlets — from the main refectory to a vending-style grab-and-go point — pays the same licence fee as one with 3 outlets.
Can students order from multiple outlets in one transaction?
Orders can be placed per outlet or, where the campus setup allows, as a combined basket split across outlets with separate kitchen routes. We configure this based on the operational requirements of each campus.
Discuss your campus setup
Tell us how many outlets, what student volume, and what student account integration you need. We will configure a campus-specific proposal.
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