University restaurants menu planning using mathematical modelling

This research aimed to develop a mathematical model for university restaurants menu planning, seeking to formulate nutri-tionally adequate meals that meet students' dietary preferences at the lowest cost. The study was divided into three steps: at the first stage, a survey was conducted with 329 college students, in order to identify their preferences regarding 69 foods from the Brazilian cuisine; at the second stage, an integer linear programming (ILP) model for menu ge-neration was developed; and at the third stage, an algorithm was developed to design the foods using a linear programming model. With the application of the model, meals were elaborated meeting the imposed nutritional needs related to 13 of the 14 nutritional elements considered. Additionally, the proposal also made possible elaboration of diversified meals throughout the approached period consistent with the students' food preferences, which was the differential contribution of this study. It is concluded that the mathematical model is able to assist nutrition professionals in the development of menus for university restaurants, and it can be adapted for use by another audience taking into account adequacy of nutritional requirements.