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How colleges and universities make sure their dining contracts achieve what they want

When a campus dining program falls short, it’s easy to blame operations. But sometimes the problem starts with the agreement itself. We sat down with the leader of B&D’s Dining Practice Group, Chet Roach, ahead of his industry roundtable session at the 2026 NACAS C3X Conference. In his interview, Chet unpacks how dining contracts are (more often than not) the source of the problem, and what institutions should consider before their next renewal or competitive solicitation process.

B&D: When a college or university develops problems with their dining program, how can they tell whether the cause is caused by day-to-day operations or the contract itself?

Chet Roach: When we’re advising clients, we tell them to start with a bigger question: Is your dining program helping your institution accomplish its overall, long-term institutional objectives? When we work with an institution that’s underwhelmed or unhappy with its dining program, we almost always find that the foundational contracts are simply not designed to support what the institution is actually trying to accomplish. The contract isn’t the end-all, be-all, but without an excellent agreement, the chances of having an optimized dining program are almost zero.

B&D: These dining contracts are often in place for years. Are they keeping up with what campuses need today?

CR: Generally, no. In most cases, the dining contract was written for a world that simply no longer exists. COVID triggered what was effectively a universal renegotiation of dining agreements. Assumptions about how many people would be on campus, live in campus housing, and participate in meal plans all changed.

Many institutions are still operating under agreements built around those circumstances, even though the world has changed again. The challenge now is protecting dining programs from risk while maintaining the right level of control.

B&D: In your NACAS C3X roundtable session, one of your main points will be that incentives drive behavior. How can institutions make sure they’re rewarding the right things?

CR: First, the institution must be clear about what success looks like. This will look different for each campus, but start with what you want your campus community members to do, feel, and prioritize when they’re on campus. Once you’ve figured that out, you build an agreement that encourages setting up a dining partnership and program to effectively support those goals. That means identifying clear, measurable goals and tying impactful financial rewards or penalties to how well your partner contributes to meeting them. The right combination will depend entirely on the institution and its definition of what roles and responsibilities the dining program must fulfill to support its overarching strategic objectives. The contract must also outline the expected transparency in the relationship between the University and the third-party operator. If the University does not understand the provider’s perspective on financial performance, operational challenges, and programmatic outcomes, it cannot be a strong and proactive partner.

B&D: If a dining contract is approaching renewal, where should an institution start?

CR: Start by answering three questions: What do we want dining to contribute to campus life? What can we reasonably expect a competitive solicitation process to produce in today’s marketplace, both financially and in the quality of the dining program? And can our existing partner and partnership make that happen?

That could mean optimizing the agreement with your current provider, or it could mean inviting others to compete for the contract. The important thing is to define what you want from dining before choosing how you’re going to get there.

Thank you to Chet for his participation in Ask the Expert. Interested in learning more? Get his email here or connect with him at NACAS C3X 2026 in booth #237 or at his session “Your Dining Contract May Be the Problem” on Sunday, September 27 at 2:30pm CT.

Ask the Expert is written and produced by Allison Bruns. If you have a topic you’d like an expert to cover in a future issue, submit them here.