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read moreChartwells Wins 2020 Best Concept Award by Food Management Magazine
Chartwells Higher Education Wins 2020 Best Concept Award by Food Management Magazine
Innovative robot-based meal delivery service at Bowling Green State University wins in the Best Customer Service Concept category
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, August 5, 2020 — Chartwells Higher Education’s robot meal delivery service at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) has been recognized by Food Management as a 2020 Best Concept award winner by editor’s choice in the Best Customer Service Concept category. This award recognizes Chartwells and BGSU’s innovation and excellence in customer service to the community.
In March of this year, Bowling Green State University became the first university in Ohio to offer robot food delivery service to students through a partnership with Chartwells Higher Education, BGSU’s foodservice provider, and Starship Technologies. The fleet of 30 autonomous, on-demand robots was made available to over 20,000 students, faculty and staff for meal delivery anywhere on campus within minutes.
“When we partnered with BGSU to launch robot delivery in March, we knew they would be a popular edition to campus and are thrilled to see the positive impact it has made on the local community.” said Lisa McEuen, CEO of Chartwells Higher Education. “With safety and social distancing top-of-mind during the pandemic, this service has become invaluable to serving students, faculty, staff and the Bowling Green community at large, and we are honored to accept Food Management’s recognition of that impact.”
By April, the robot delivery’s fleet and service expanded to parts of the city of Bowling Green to support those in the community impacted by COVID-19. Part of their first expanded delivery included special stops to the Bowling Green fire and police departments to deliver donuts as a “thank you” for their tireless work during the pandemic.
“It’s an incredible privilege to have technologies like robot delivery at our disposal that allow us to help our students and local community, especially now more than ever,” said Michael Paulus, director of BGSU Dining. “We don’t do it for awards, but we’re thrilled that Food Management recognizes how we’re leveraging autonomous deliveries to better serve our communities.”
Since 1998, Food Management’s annual Best Concept awards program has recognized and celebrated the best practices and most innovative thinking in onsite foodservice. Each year, editors evaluate best-in-class nominations on a variety of factors like creativity, impact, and effectiveness. Chartwells Higher Education and Bowling Green State University and other Best Concept winners will be recognized in Food Management’s September/October issue.
