Sept. 12, 2018 – Washington Co., WI – The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is working to provide food service on campus at UWM-Washington County after the previous vendor’s contract with UW Colleges ended.
A’viands contract with UW Colleges was completed at the end of the spring semester. UW Colleges transferred the Washington County campus to UWM on July 1, 2018, under a proposal put forward by UW System President Ray Cross and approved by the UW System Board of Regents.
UWM began seeking a new food service provider in June in anticipation of the upcoming transfer. No vendors responded to its request for proposals.
UWM then began exploring other options for providing food service and identified Canteen’s Smart Market as an affordable and convenient alternative to traditional food service. Canteen is the nation’s largest vending machine services company.
Its Smart Market machines are stocked with healthy sandwiches, snacks, drinks and premium coffee from vendors like Starbucks and Peet’s. Canteen said the machines will be installed in November.
Meanwhile, Gateway Catering in Kewaskum has agreed to provide catering for student events and special events held at the Washington County campus.
It is important to note most students drive to the Washington County campus and no students live on-campus. As a result, demand for on-campus food service is relatively low.
Many students choose to bring food from home, and others opt to eat at the many nearby restaurants.
Over the past three years, on-campus food service has resulted in losses that average $33,000 per year. This is why the university believes an automated fresh food service like Smart Market is the best, most affordable solution for students at this time at UWM at Washington County.
The university will continue to explore additional food service options for the Washington County campus, and as always, are happy to hear from companies interested in working with all three campuses.
When working with vendors, the university strives to provide the best possible experience for our students, while being mindful of the need to keep education affordable and be wise stewards of public money.
Students as well as faculty and staff were notified of the change.
Sue Bausch
Director of Communications
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE