Online ordering that is fast and convenient for students and easy for foodservice managers to operate is the promise of RAMwich, the new takeout ordering system at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins.

To order takeout, students log in to the RAMwich web site from a computer, smart phone, or tablet. They select a sandwich or salad from an online menu that allows them to add or remove various toppings and ingredients. They specify a convenient pick-up time and pay for the order with a deduction from their meal plan or RamCash, a campus spending account. At the designated pick-up time, the order is waiting for them at a dedicated service window at the Braiden Hall Dining Center.

One of the aims of RAMwich is to reduce pressure on Braiden Hall. Because of its proximity to academic buildings, the facility is hit hard by the lunch rush. It serves 800 to 900 lunches per day with 400 seats. “I wondered if there was a way to feed students without having them come into the building and tie up a seat,” says Deon Lategan, residential dining director.

The CSU information technology department developed RAMwich, which is named after the school’s ram mascot, after Lategan decided a commercial online ordering program was very expensive. One of the key features he requested is flexible ordering. “It is very easy to leave off the guacamole or the lettuce or to add another portion of meat to a sandwich,” says Lategan.

Lategan also charged IT with making it easy for managers to modify the menu. “Say we run out of roast beef,” says Lategan. “The manager can go in and change the menu right from her computer. We wanted to be able to change items without it being a huge IT project that takes weeks.”

In its initial months, Lategan reports that RAMwich is handling between 50 and 100 orders per day, good for a new venture, but not as high as he would like. He hopes to bump up the numbers with a marketing campaign involving food sampling and couponing.