When students treat themselves to a cookie from Union Drive Marketplace or a cupcake from Seasons, every bite traces back to the ISU Bakery.

Operating out of the Knapp-Storms Building, the bakery produces more than 1.6 million desserts per year.

“We produce breads, pastries, cookies, bars, cupcakes, bagels and pizza dough,” Karen Rodekamp, director of ISU Dining, said. 

The ISU Bakery, also known as the Dining Support Center, has 243 unique recipes that are still popular among former Iowa State students, according to Rodekamp.

“Past students email us for a recipe they want to recreate 20 years later because they miss it,” Rodekamp said. “I would say the bran muffins, carmelitas and buttermilk brownies are probably the top three requests.”

Mary Schott, associate director of IT management and nutritional services for ISU Dining, said the bakery often gets requests for both classic and unusual desserts. 

“Last week, somebody wanted a cottage cheese veggie bread sandwich we had from the 1990s,” Schott said. “A coworker told me she remembers making the recipe and plans to reach out to the person.”

The Dining Support Center facility serves as a production and distribution center for ISU Dining. 

“The facility is our centralized bakery, but it also does a lot of additional production support for every dining location on campus,” Rodekamp said.

Additionally, employees slice meats for every campus deli and produce alfredo sauce for ISU Dining.

“We produce 38,000 pounds of sauce a year,” Rodekamp said. “We slice 18,000 pounds of deli meat, and process 15,000 pounds of vegetables.”

Recently, the Dining Support Center made 2,000 pounds of pizza dough in a week to keep up with demand from the dining halls.

Schott said that the Dining Support Center is accommodating to fluctuating demand.

“If there is a super rush and everybody is eating pizza that day, being able to call up our team to make more pizza dough in-house is a great benefit,” Schott said. 

The Dining Support Center has nine full-time bakers and 30 to 40 students as part-time employees.

ISU Dining Chef de Cuisine Ed Astarita said that student employees assist the full-time staff by preparing ingredients.

“Students don’t really bake,” Astarita said. “They assist in making pizza dough and pack up anything from the oven to send out for the next day.”

Rodekamp said that student employees also clean the facility and production equipment. 

The Dining Support Center operates 20 hours a day, providing student employees with flexible hours and night shift options.

“Some students come in as early as 4 a.m. or 5 a.m.,” Rodekamp said. “Those shifts really appeal to students that are more night owls and would rather work overnight than come in at 9 a.m.” 

ISU Dining is the largest employer of students on campus because of numerous staff positions in production and campus dining halls. Rodekamp said she is grateful for the opportunity to work with students.

“We’ve had staff challenges at times, and we realize how reliant we are on our student employees,” Rodekamp said. “We love getting to know the students because they are a part of our team.”

Schott said that working for the bakery and ISU Dining is a great opportunity for students.

“There’s so many opportunities within ISU Dining to enhance your professional skills,” Schott said. “You may start by weighing ingredients and counting cookies, but there’s supervisor levels, student managers and roles within the department to get additional experience.”

Schott said she has a dietetic student in her department that is working with a professional.

“She gets to work directly under a dietitian and is getting great experience,” Schott said. “It will look really good on a resume and it’s just a great opportunity to really grow and build up her skills.”

Students interested in working for ISU Dining can apply on the department’s website. For any questions, students can call 515-294-4864 or visit 168 Union Drive Community Center.