Think back to your college days. They were probably equally exciting and stressful as you tried to balance academics, club responsibilities and social activities. And today’s college experience is no different.

Between classes, homework and meetings, finding time to get food is hard. Not to mention, many students have a limited budget. That’s why university organizations make it a priority to provide food at club meetings and events. And honestly, who can say no to a free meal shared with friends and classmates?

Sarayu Sundar, the Associate Director for Student Experience at the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, understands this.

“[Food] is obviously a huge draw, and we really want to make sure that we’re getting those undergrad bellies fed,” said Sundar. “But in terms of the importance of food beyond that, I think that it’s really just a way to build community. It’s not just about getting those grades; it’s about making those memories.”

But creating those memories and ordering food for over 1,000 students can be a logistical nightmare. At least, it was before Rice Business partnered with ezCater for their campus catering needs.

The challenge of feeding over 40 organizations

Despite having a relatively small campus, Rice Business students are incredibly active in different organizations and clubs.

“We have nearly 40 organizations within the business school,” Sundar says. “So, as you can imagine, there is never a day when there isn’t a student event happening. And you can’t have a student event without food.”

Taking the time to organize just one catered event can be enough of a hassle, especially considering the time required to find a local restaurant and ensure they can fulfill the order at the right time. Now multiply that time investment by 40, and you have a full-time job just planning the catering for every university organization. 

Much of this responsibility fell on Taylor Adams, Co-President of the Entrepreneurship Association and President of the Women in Leadership Conference.

“We have a lot of meetings here at Rice Business, so I’m constantly needing to order food for our students, our volunteers and our committee members,” said Adams.

Before ezCater, this planning was stressful for Adams. She always had a lot of anxiety about organizing the lunches, and she would start planning for it days before the event just to ensure she could find a restaurant and get everyone’s orders. 

Goodbye paperwork, hello good food

Adams needed days of preparation for just one event because of the extensive research and paperwork involved.

“I had to find a restaurant that was close enough to Rice” Adams said. “[And then] I had to call them, explain to them that I was doing a catering order, but it wasn’t for a big event. And then I’d have to send a spreadsheet out to all of the committee members and have them put in their preferred order based on the menu.”

With at least one event every day, that’s about 30 spreadsheets a month — just to organize the food portion of the event. It was time-consuming and confusing for everyone involved — both the students and Adams. And it took away time from school work and the actual events. 

All that changed when Rice Business partnered with ezCater. Instead of using multiple spreadsheets and negotiating with vendors, ezCater simplifies and personalizes the ordering process.

“With ezCater, I’m able to just send my team a link, and they can select the food they want,” said Adams. “It is one of the best tools that we’ve started using here at Rice Business.”

Aside from the spreadsheets, there was also the issue of collecting physical receipts.

“Everything obviously needs to be tracked,” explained Adams. “We all have budgets, and as business students, we need to make sure that we are adhering to those budgets.” So for every catered meal, the students needed to save and turn in the receipt — which wasn’t always easy since receipts easily get lost or damaged. 

ezCater simplified the entire process by keeping everything on the app and generating electronic receipts. “We can just select what organization we’re ordering food for, and then a receipt is also sent to me,” Adams explained. “And I can then share that with the university as well. So I don’t have to be chasing down vendors for tax-exempt forms and receipts.” 

Enjoying tax-exempt status

Ordering food for Rice Business organizations was also stressful because of the university’s tax-exempt status. Restaurants and vendors didn’t always understand that and often produced receipts that included tax. Of course, those receipts couldn’t go through the university’s expense report. This created a long and trying battle for Sundar.

“I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve lost negotiating with different vendors about how we truly were tax-exempt,” said Sundar.

With ezCater, she now saves all those hours going back and forth with restaurants. When Rice Business created an account with ezCater, she just put the university’s tax-exempt status and documentation within the account. Now vendors can automatically see that information when they get an order from Rice Business and simply remove taxes from the receipt without a drawn-out negotiation. 

It streamlines the ordering process and frees time for Sundar and Adams to focus on more pressing issues.

Food that fits everyone’s needs

Ordering a catered meal the traditional way can be quite limiting. Generally, the person placing the order decides for everyone what they’re eating, and there isn’t much room for personalization. That was a significant issue for Rice Business.

“We place such an emphasis on being an inclusive campus, an inclusive culture,” Sundar says. “And, you know, inclusive means it’s not just about, you know, who you are; it’s about what you’re eating. And so we want to make sure that we’re catering to all of that.”

ezCater allows for this inclusivity and customization since there are dozens of vendors on the ezCater Marketplace. Whether students want a Texan brisket or a vegan meal, they have options. And ezCater lets them input any dietary restrictions so they get the food they want. 

“We see a lot more smiles at the table instead of eye rolls because they’re not excited about what’s for lunch,” said Sundar. “They picked it, and they’re excited about it.”

ezCater: The obvious solution to feeding hard-working students

“The results of using ezCater are really obvious,” Sundar said. “What we were doing [before] was not working for us… and ezCater came in and was just like a magic wand to solving all of our food needs.”

ezCater can also solve all your food needs, whether you work at a university or another organization. Learn more about ezCater’s campus solutions today.