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Farmland Black Angus beef gains acceptance at prestigious Purdue University. Summer 2005

Serving 38,000 undergrad students and the 10,000 staff that support them, Purdue Food Stores now includes Farmland Black Angus Beef as part of a substantial foodservice upgrade that includes new fire grill installations and a shift toward serving a broader audience. The OPERATOR asked Steve Eberly, director of Food Stores at Purdue’s Lafayette, Indiana campus, how Farmland was fitting in.

QUESTION: You’ve indicated that higher education demands higher quality food.

EBERLY: You (students) have to compete to be accepted into Purdue today. Once you get here, you do have significant expectations.

QUESTION: Like a good burger, prepared in sight? How do Farmland Black Angus burgers perform with your new fire grills?

EBERLY: Very well. The USDA choice beef distinctly contributes to the flavor. Another thing that’s important is product consistency. If we were experiencing a wide variation in fat-to-lean ratios, it could be absolutely disastrous in a fire grill situation.

QUESTION: You’ve expanded your audience. Does Farmland fit in?

EBERLY: We’re satisfying not just the 18–23-year-old resident hall student, but also individuals (faculty and staff) with pretty high levels of discretionary income. We’re very proud to plate up a product that I think will hold muster to many upscale casual restaurants.

QUESTION: What results have you seen serving Farmland Black Angus burgers?

EBERLY: Based on flavor and appearance attributes, the product has doubled ground beef patty consumption at Purdue over the last 18 months.