Nebraska Cornhusker football fans in a human sea of red have packed into the century-old Memorial Stadium, selling out an NCAA-record 396 straight games by the end of this season, and counting. That’s every game since 1962.

On those football Saturdays in Lincoln, the stadium itself becomes the third-largest “city” in the state. And this past August, Memorial Stadium hosted 92,003 Big Red fans, a world women’s athletic event attendance record, to watch a unique, outdoor “Volleyball Day in Nebraska” matchup between Nebraska’s Cornhuskers volleyball team and Omaha.

Connecting food, fans

What, if any, is the connection between Nebraska’s largest industry — agriculture — and those fans in the seats? Well, the team’s mascot is the Cornhuskers. But beyond the obvious, the answer, of course, is the food.

Nebraska Farmer visited with Darin Carter, director of concessions events for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Carter shared the numbers on a typical football Saturday in Lincoln as far as food purchased from concessions at Memorial Stadium.

They are mind-blowing — 21,660 Valentino’s pizza slices; 13,556 Runzas; 13,916 hot dogs; 600 pounds of raw popcorn kernels popped; and 560 pounds of hamburger served.

“Nebraska fans can feel the connection to the state’s farmers and ag industry through our locally sourced items,” Carter says. “The burgers, brats and pulled pork are all sourced from Omaha Steaks. The beef that is used to make our burgers comes from Nebraska-based processors and packaging plants, and Nebraska farmers provide the beef to those processors. This results in a positive economic impact to Nebraska farmers and the state’s ag industry.”

It doesn’t stop with burgers and brats. “Our buns are sourced from Rotella’s Italian Bakery in Omaha,” Carter explains. “Our popcorn is sourced from Preferred Popcorn, a Nebraska-based company” headquartered in Chapman. Add the state’s love affair with Runzas and Valentino’s Pizza, plus UNL Dairy Store ice cream, and the food chants “Husker Power” almost as loudly as the fans.

For Carter, it is rewarding to be able to provide this kind of fan food at UNL concessions. “I hope our fans get a consistent and high-quality product every time they visit a concession stand,” he says. “For me, the most rewarding aspect of the job is providing that fan experience.”

Fan experience

Carter says that his staff feeds off the energy, excitement and positivity from the fans at each game or event. “I like the fast-paced environment,” he says, “and I like the daily challenges and creativity used to be successful.”

The challenges are many in his job, and there are new obstacles and challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic. “People are more focused on the amount of time it takes to get service,” Carter says. “Grab-and-go concepts and self-pay options are growing fast in the industry. The way food is packaged and served has changed.

“We went from open containers to ones that close. Due to supply and demand of labor, we must be more creative on how efficiently we operate,” Carter adds. “There are still issues with supply chain on some products, so planning, forecasting and preparation are more important than ever.”

FAN FOOD: Nebraska Farmer staff writer and UNL student Elizabeth Hodges (center) takes a quick photo with her Husker football fan buddies and their stadium food, like Runzas for instance. Dining with Hodges are Taylor Arens (right), Faith Junck, Allison Everhart and Ellie Latcham (corner left). (Elizabeth Hodges photo)

But in spite of those challenges, if Husker fans want to get a taste of Nebraska and the state’s powerhouse agriculture industry, they need only to stop by the nearest concession stands at Memorial Stadium on a football Saturday.

Learn more at huskers.com.