For students at the University of South Carolina, finding the right dining options on and off campus has never been easier. With the implementation of Grubhub’s technology for mobile food ordering and delivery, students now have the option to order items ahead for pick-up or directly to their location via robot delivery.

Aramark Collegiate Hospitality is the food service contractor for the university’s dining services. Together, they are constantly evolving, adjusting their style and systems to optimize the user experience.

South Carolina began their partnership with Grubhub in 2018 offering diners the opportunity to mobile order. Since then, they have expanded to add Grubhub Ultimate for kiosk ordering, APEX Food Lockers, and Starship Robots.

This fall, students will be able use a meal plan swipe to enter dining facilities with all-you-can-eat options, with access validated by the Grubhub app.  They can eat from the buffet or use a kiosk to place a specialized made-to-order option.

“We have a large campus and a large student population, so dining is always looking for ways to enhance the student experience,” says Danielle Hewitt, Unit Controller for Aramark Collegiate Hospitality at the University of South Carolina. “Accessibility, speed of service and convenience are important to our students, so this partnership helps us deliver on that.”

The CarolinaCard acts as a campus identification card and allows users to ‘pay’ for food with meal swipes, dining dollars, or CarolinaCash at both on and off campus dining locations.

Grubhub Ultimate is a suite of hardware and software that includes point of sale devices integrated with the Grubhub app and other systems; in-store and in-app customer displays that show real-time order status; in-store self-ordering kiosks; and back-of-house kitchen display systems. Integrating this technology and the CarolinaCard allows users to order a meal and pay for it within one app.

In January of 2024, Grubhub launched the off-campus program for South Carolina students enabling them to use their flex funds at 375,000 Grubhub merchants around the country. Since then, more than 9,000 orders have been made through this system.

Steve Iarocci, senior director for client success and operations at Grubhub, credits the university’s proactive and innovative dining team for the successful implementation.

“The South Carolina campus has a knack for thinking outside the box and consistently using technology in new ways, such as operating ghost kitchens or leveraging Grubhub’s easy-to-use platform for a student-run grill,” says Iarocci. “By evolving alongside Grubhub and keeping on the cutting edge of the modern dining experience, the university ensures students and faculty continue to engage year in and year out.”

Let’s take the school mascot Cocky, for example. Cocky could order his morning coffee on his phone to the food locker closest to his 9 a.m. class and pick it up on the way. At lunch, he could use a kiosk in the dining hall to customize his sandwich and grab it at the pick-up counter a few minutes later. Later that evening at the library, Cocky could place an order for an acai bowl to be delivered to him via a robot.

Since signing on with Grubhub, South Carolina dining has grown its operational footprint significantly.

“Even with our growing campus population, we have to be able to effectively service our students within our existing dining footprint,” explains Hewitt. “With Grubhub, we have been able to increase orders by 44%, sales by 54%, and Grubhub users by 24%.”

This fall, the University of South Carolina is piloting a technology where students can use a meal plan swipe to enter dining facilities with all-you-can-eat options, with access validated by the Grubhub app.  They can eat from the buffet or use a kiosk to place a specialized made-to-order option. Additionally, students can request a reusable container or a to-go cup from within the app.

Even with our growing campus population, we have to be able to effectively service our students within our existing dining footprint, and we have increased orders by 44% and sales by 54%.

“The use of the all-you-care-to-eat platform will aid in speed of service, decrease system errors, and provide easier access to reports,” Hewitt says. “Our goal is to enhance the experience that our students have on campus, so ensuring that the ability to access food is easy and accessible is vital to their experience on campus.”

With options this expansive, the user experience is still confined singularly to the Grubhub app, allowing for convenience and efficiency. As the university adapts new features, Grubhub is able to reflect those changes within the app.

The app provides a one stop shop for all dining needs for students,” says Hewitt. “Being able to access all these functions via their phone makes ordering food on campus seamless and easy, and Grubhub has been so great to work with. They are a leader in the industry and their brand resonates with our students.”