From Marketing to Warehouse

 We’ve had some busy weeks here at Penn State exploring the different branches of foodservice. Last week we were able to meet the marketing team and see some of their work productions for the dining halls. They are a highly motivated and creative team, and it was very interesting to learn what they do to make the dining halls more appealing to the students. We also learned about Food Pro, which is a system created by Penn State that has every recipe loaded in it and can give all the details about any food that has been previously ordered or prepared here. It makes finding nutritional facts easy, and is a great method for double checking whether or not allergens are contained in certain foods. We concluded the week working with the Grade 10 workers who are responsible for cutting fruits, vegetables and desserts and preparing the salad and deli bars. 

This week we were sent to the warehouse to learn more about the process behind receiving food, as well as delivering it to the various dining halls on campus. Also located in the warehouse is the fabulous bakery that provides far too many tempting sweet samples in the break room, and constantly smells like fresh bread baking in the oven. While working in the bakery, we had the opportunity to help prepare some delicious baked goods, and also got to learn how to work some of the large machinery in there.

Although our weeks have been packed with learning experiences, we never forget to make time for fun! Over the past couple weeks we were very lucky to be taken to a small lake with the director of the dining halls, where we kayaked and canoed for a couple hours, we hiked Tussy Mountain, and we also managed to make our way to Philadelphia to try some cheesesteak and check out the liberty bell and Independence Hall.