Catering facilities
Four stars for the canteen at Bispinghof
Great success for the canteen at Bispinghof! For the eighth time, PETA surveyed canteens across Germany on various aspects of vegan food. In 2024, 37 Studierendenwerke and their catering facilities took part – including our canteen at Bispinghof, which only offers vegan-vegetarian dishes. And with success: the animal welfare organization awarded our facility an excellent four stars!
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“It’s all teamwork! It wouldn’t have been possible without each other,” emphasizes canteen manager Hendrik Ullrich. “Everything we do here involves an incredible amount of hard work and love. The employees give their best every day. That’s why the award is well deserved. I am very proud of my team!”
Varied vegan offer
And the service has also impressed PETA: the organization emphasizes the large and varied selection of vegan starters and main courses. The menu includes popular vegan options such as pumpkin falafel, vegetable crispy bagels with mango curry dip, as well as lahmacun with salad filling and mini samosas with Asian sauce. The assessment also includes staff training, campaign weeks or days offered and the active promotion of plant-based dishes. Overall, each PETA establishment can receive a maximum score of five stars – however, the full number is only reserved for canteens with an exclusively vegan menu.
Pack watching in the "Hier und Jetzt" for the European Football Championship
Spectators were able to watch the European Championship matches in two dining halls. Studierendenwerk continued a well-established tradition for the 2024 European Football Championships: All matches of the German national team were broadcast live in the “Hier und Jetzt” café – even on weekends when the café is regularly closed.
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The matches could be followed on several monitors and large screens. Seating was available in two indoor dining rooms and on the terrace on the upper floor. On average, around 700 soccer fans took advantage of the offer.
The “Rudelgucken”, which took place for the 8th time at the Studierendenwerk, was accompanied by a gastronomic offer with classics such as vegan currywurst, burgers and fries. With admission free of charge, all tables were quickly occupied due to limited seating and a correspondingly good atmosphere was guaranteed when the German team was successful.
Even though the tournament ended for the German team in the match against Spain, the shared soccer experience remains a positive memory.
New self-service checkout in the canteen at Bispinghof
The management of the catering facilities draws a positive conclusion for new checkouts. Great innovations at Mensa am Bispinghof: the facility put its first self-service checkout into operation in 2024. This follows the example of Mensa am Aasee, where two cash registers with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) have already been in use since mid-2024.
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Relief for staff in the canteens
An acute shortage of skilled workers, unpredictable peak times and tightly timed break times for students – there are many reasons for introducing a self-service checkout, according to Markus Orthaus, Head of Administration at the catering facilities. “The self-service tills are intended to support staff, but not replace them,” he emphasizes. “These devices should be seen as a fast lane that can be passed through quickly, especially at peak times.” And that makes their daily work much easier, especially for the staff at the Bispinghof canteen. “The facility is structurally designed for 900 customers per day. However, due to the switch to purely vegan and vegetarian dishes, we can serve 1,600 meals a day at peak times – and the structural conditions mean that no more conventional checkout stations can be installed.”
The solution is the new self-service checkout, which was integrated into the checkout area of the canteen at Bispinghof with little effort. It is already clear that the checkout has been well received by guests. “We’ve already had over 100 transactions with the till on the first day,” summarizes Markus Orthaus. Customers in the Mensa am Aasee are also already enthusiastic about the new tills. “They are really easy to use – it feels as if the devices have always been there,” says Markus Orthaus. “And that was exactly our goal: for the devices to work independently.”
The aim is to increase the number of self-service checkouts
So far, the Studierendenwerk’s new self-service checkouts are running as a pilot project. “But we are basically pursuing the goal of expanding the use of self-service checkouts in our canteens in the future.”
Reopening of Bistro Oeconomicum
New facility invites students to linger. On average, the Bistro Oeconomicum serves between 1,500 and 2,000 students every day. After a renovation phase in fall 2024, during which the bistro was closed, the reopening was eagerly awaited.
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With the new seating and acoustic panels on the wall, the guest room now looks friendlier and more modern. The panels not only have an aesthetic benefit: They are intended to dampen the multitude of noises in the relatively small guest room. The vinyl floor and the dishwashing technology are also new. Students can also look forward to new tables and chairs. Another highlight is the upholstered bench right by the window.
Supply secured at all times
Due to the extensive renovation work, the bistro had been closed since the end of September 2024. During this time, Bistro KaBu and the food truck had taken over catering for students at this location.
Meal figures for canteens in 2024
| Mensen | Verkaufte Essen |
|---|---|
| Mensa am Ring | 656.627 |
| Mensa am Aasee | 439.185 |
| Mensa Da Vinci | 217.105 |
| Mensa Bispinghof | 276.067 |
| Mensa Steinfurt | 81.250 |
| Summe | 1.670.234 |
Meal figures for bistros in 2024
| Mensen | Verkaufte Essen |
|---|---|
| Bistro KaBu | 36.374 |
| Bistro Oeconomicum | 47.739 |
| Bistro Denkpause | 76.959 |
| Bistro katho | 9.342 |
| Bistro Durchblick | 23.024 |
| Bistro Pi | Keine warme Mittagsverpflegung |
| Summe | 193.438 |
