Comfort Food: Building Engagement And Belonging With New Uncw Students Through Dining Services

<span style="color: #242424; font-family: 'Aptos Narrow', Calibri, 'sans-serif', 'Mongolian Baiti', 'Microsoft Yi Baiti', 'Javanese Text', 'Yu Gothic'; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space-collapse: preserve; background-color: #ffffff;">UNCW Business Services and Dining have an opportunity to connect and engage with students by creating a sense of belonging with the dining experience on campus. A report, which surveyed students nationwide, asked about any roadblocks to college success and found 51% worry about basic needs that higher education services provide, such as food, housing, or transportation (NACAS &amp; Wasserman Next Gen, 2023), highlighting the connection and importance of higher education dining services and the student experience. A study on the sense of belonging in college freshmen at the classroom and campus levels at a Southeastern university found that a sense of belonging has been shown to positively impact students&rsquo; social and psychological well-being, self-confidence, academic achievement, and retention (Freeman et al., 2007). Adapting services with effective communication through social media strategies targeted to Gen Z can positively impact service quality, the student&rsquo;s feeling of belonging, and the overall student experience. This project developed a research-driven social media strategy guide for UNCW Business Services and Dining Services teams with strategies based on four areas of belonging: the higher education connection, food insecurity, dietary need and preference, and convenience. As Lu (2023) also concluded, higher education institutions can&rsquo;t make students feel a sense of belonging, but they can create conditions where the likelihood of feeling a sense of belonging is the greatest. The guide provides best practices for connecting with new UNCW students to promote increased engagement before arriving on campus and during their first year, ultimately contributing to a greater sense of belonging and positive student experience. </span>