Campus Life August 21, 2026
New dining options expand convenience and choice across University of Utah campus
Heather L. King - Associate Director of PR & Communication
As students, faculty, and staff return to the University of Utah for the new academic year, they will find more choices for where, when and how they eat on campus.
The changes are part of a broader effort to make dining an integral part of the student experience and to support President Taylor Randall’s vision for a more connected campus community.
From new restaurants and grab-and-go options at Trailhead to expanded dining plan flexibility, mobile ordering and a growing food truck program, Housing and Dining Programs is making changes designed to give the campus community greater convenience and variety while making food a more integrated part of campus life and helping feed College Town Magic.
Dining plans go farther
Dining plan changes this year are intended to give students more flexibility in how they use their dining plans across campus.
Rather than relying on a single dining model, Housing and Dining Programs has created a collection of options that students can use depending on what they need at a particular time with options to use their plans at both traditional dining locations and additional retail dining concepts thanks to Swoop Swaps and Flex+.
The new Flex+ program expands the locations where students can use the designated portion of their balance at participating campus retailers outside Chartwells dining locations.
“This is a program I’m really excited about because it’s opens the world of food to our community,” said Anna Dickherber, executive director of Guest and Dining Programs. “It’s an opportunity for a student to use their dining plan at a variety of other types of food venues.”
These include Starbucks locations in the Marriott Library and the campus store with additional campus cafes being added.
The program is designed to bring more local and specialty food options into students’ dining plans too. Beginning September 8, food trucks will be connected to the system so students can use Flex+ at all trucks campus wide.
Swoop Swaps is the new name for transfer meals explains Sean Grube, associate vice president of Housing and Dining Programs. “It’s a pre-built meal deal at our retail locations in exchange for a dining hall tap off their dining plan.” Each dining plan allows up to four Swoop Swaps per day.
At Trailhead, Swoop Swap choices will include items from the new dining concepts, giving students additional ways to use their dining plans for meals and snacks.
The U’s goal is to make dining plans more portable, allowing students to use them where they already are—whether that’s near their residence hall, between classes or at another campus location.
The Other Side Donuts
New Trailhead offerings
Trailhead, the U’s newest residence hall, is the center of the new era of campus dining. The 1,447-bed building includes several new food concepts intended to serve not only Trailhead residents but also students living in nearby Kahlert Village and the honors community. The area represents a residential population of about 3,500 students, and staff, faculty and nearby residents are welcome too.
“This is really about delivering what students are looking for,” said Grube. “The goal is to create an active residential community where students have opportunities to connect, rather than simply returning to their rooms after class.”
Qdoba build-your-own bowl
New offerings in Trailhead include Qdoba, All Pho U, Base Camp and The Other Side Donuts.
All Pho U serves Vietnamese favorites, including house-made broths and noodles. Swoop Swap options include the chicken noodle bowl, edamame dumplings and chicken dumplings.
Qdoba offers customizable burritos, bowls, quesadillas and other Tex-Mex options late into the evening. Rotating Swoop Swap options will be available for both breakfast and lunch.
Base Camp
The Other Side Donuts, a local favorite chosen by student votes, has donuts, coffee and savory breakfast items. Swoop Swap selections include breakfast items and student-selected donut favorites. Purchases made here contributes to local community efforts in partnership with The Other Side Village, a local non-profit organization.
Base Camp provides lean protein plates; healthy grab-and-go selections; snacks; beverages; vegetarian and vegan options and allergen-conscious meals through Delicious Without for those on the move.
The Trailhead concepts are designed to make dining part of the residential experience. Students will be able to eat, study, socialize and participate in activities within the same neighborhood rather than traveling across campus for every meal.
Mobile ordering adds another layer of convenience
Technology is also becoming a larger part of the campus dining experience.
At Trailhead, students can order food through a mobile platform and pick it up at a designated station on the main floor. The system is designed to allow students to order while they’re leaving their rooms or moving through the building, with the goal of having food ready when they arrive.
The approach reflects a larger expectation among students that campus services should work as conveniently as the services they use in everyday life.
More food trucks, more variety
The U is also expanding its food truck program. While the familiar site of food trucks on Marriott Library Plaza has come to an end, a new physical food truck site has been approved, with plans to begin operating in September.
Here, the campus community will find not only their favorite long-time trucks such as Sergio’s Pizza and Olive’s Oasis but also new choices organized through Food Truck League.
“We believe this centralized model will allow us to provide greater variety, integrate participating food trucks with Flex+ dining plan funds, improve scheduling and reliability, and give us greater flexibility to respond to changing needs across campus,” said Grube.
The new food truck program responds in part to student, staff and faculty feedback calling for more diverse food choices. Regularly rotating vendors create more excitement and variety in the campus community’s dining experience.
The U’s improved dining strategy increasingly emphasizes giving the entire campus community a variety of options that reflect different schedules, dietary preferences, budgets and cultural backgrounds through new dining concepts, more flexible dining plans and mobile ordering.
Reshaping the campus food experience is an important part of the campus College Town Magic experience that’s being integrated with housing, recreation, study spaces and the entire university community.
Taken together, the changes reflect a broader shift in how the U is approaches dining with more opportunities to find food that matches what every person on campus is craving.
