Lunch vendors returning to campus starting next week

Food vendors are returning to the UNMC Omaha campus starting next week, and plans are in the works for the new lunch options to grow.

The occasion will mark a return to what UNMC offered on campus before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Throughout much of the pandemic, indoor dining was restricted within UNMC buildings. During warm weather months, the campus turned to outdoor food trucks to give students and staff a convenient lunch choice.

Now, food trucks will be brought to campus only for special events.

Rick Boldt, senior manager in the UNMC Office of Business and Finance, has formalized UNMC’s arrangement with its food vendors and set an initial schedule with three: Goodcents Deli Fresh Subs, Zemog’s Cocina Mexicana and Bob’s Street Eats.

Boldt said he continues to work with other potential vendors and hopes to add to the schedule soon.

Two locations will host the vendors on campus: the Sorrell Center (Alumni Commons area) and Durham Research Center (Maurer Commons area).

To start, the Sorrell Center will have lunch available Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Durham Research Center on Mondays and Thursdays, all from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (See the schedule to the right.)

Ken Bayles, PhD, UNMC’s vice chancellor for research, said he and many UNMC faculty and staff are excited for vendors to return.

“The pandemic clearly has taken a toll on our physical and mental health,” Dr. Bayles said, “My hope is that the return of food vendors will catalyze the lunchtime socialization we had in Sorrell and the Durham Research Center commons area prior to 2020.”

The Sorrell Center and Durham Research Center locations are familiar lunch spots for many around UNMC.

But Nicole Kent, student senate president and UNMC student regent, said many students don’t remember a day when UNMC offered outside food vendors on campus.

“As an almost fourth-year medical student, I haven’t experienced food service in Sorrell or Durham Research Center since I’ve been a student,” Kent said.

Kent said she’s excited for students to have the flexibility and convenience of having quality lunch options available close to their classrooms.

“Professional students have a lot of responsibilities that take up a lot of their time,” she said, “so having food service vendors in Sorrell and the Durham Research Center will give us more flexibility in our lives.” 

Said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, “We know our students, faculty and staff have been looking forward to food vendors returning to campus. I hope everyone enjoys the lunch offerings we have planned, whether that means grabbing a quick bite to eat or sitting down again to share a meal with your colleagues.”