As Aramark’s five-year contract nears termination, the food service giant is battling five other corporations to remain as the University’s dining service provider in a bid to be decided by early next semester. Other providers up for consideration are Bon Appétit, Chartwells, Lackmann Culinary Services, Parkhurst Dining Services, and Sodexho.
Students have been in the thick of the bidding process, speaking to representatives from several of the bidders that visited campus in mid-October.
If successful in the upcoming bid, Aramark would use the new Usdan University Center’s state-of-the-art kitchen to enhance overall dining on campus and support the University’s desire for a greater sense of community, according to David Steinberg, director of Aramark Higher Education’s strategic development in New England.
“We support the University community through strong local purchasing practices and support of student initiatives on campus,” he said.
Bon Appétit has touted its commitment to buying local goods and following guidelines for the ethical treatment of animals.
“We were the first food service company to take a stand on antibiotics in animal husbandry, rBGH in milk, and cage-free eggs,” said Bon Appétit Director of Communications and Strategic Initiatives Maisie Ganzler.
Chartwells has conducted extensive on-campus surveys to determine student preferences.
“The results of the over 400 surveys we have taken will develop a truly customized dining environment for the Wesleyan community,” said Chartwells Regional Sales Director Richard Cornell. “It’s presumptuous of any organization to come in and give Wesleyan a dining plan without asking the students what they would like.”
Lackmann Culinary Services, also playing to perceived student preferences, has proposed to keep Weshop open 24 hours per day and to increase the hours for Pi Café. It has also suggested adding exotic foods to the University’s menus.
“Some features will include Latin Cuisine, Tapas, Pacific Exchange, Greek, Vietnam, and Caribbean, just to name a few,” said Lackmann’s Director of Sales and Marketing Bridget McManus.
Parkhurst Dining Services has suggested lowering retail prices and reducing the buy-in amount for junior and senior dining plans. Additionally, Parkhurst has suggested tailoring its menus to student interest.
“At Parkhurst, we have no corporate menu programs because we tailor our menus specifically for each account,” said Parkhurst Director of Partnership Development Diane Snyder. “We focus heavily on the quality of food, with emphasis on fresh, made-from-scratch items.”
Similarly, Sodexho has focused on promoting healthy foods and options for non-meat-eaters.
“We understand the issues that are important to Wesleyan students, among which are sustainability, social responsibility, vegan and natural foods,” said Ken Barber of Sodexho Campus Services.
In response to these plans, University dining employees claim that too much focus on local or organic products and fancy dining experiences could present steep costs for workers.
“We are not going to take cutbacks,” said dining service employee and Union Steward Raquel Adorno. “We have fought long and hard for our wages, and we will go to the [bargaining] table again if necessary.”
Many students have expressed support for current dining workers. Workers’ contracts will expire in February 2008, but they are expected to keep their jobs at the University. Still, according to administrators and food service workers, future prospects are unclear.
The University has informed each of the dining service bidders of its Employment Code for Service Contractors, as well as of the current contract between the dining staff and Aramark.
“Until we review the proposals, we won’t be able to say how the companies propose to staff the different venues and what impact that will have,” said Dean of Campus Programs Rick Culliton. “However, we expect that most of the current staff will continue working for Aramark or a new service provider under the new contract.”
Adorno feels that the University should be applauded for its inclusion of the union contract, saying that most schools neglect to do so.
“Wesleyan has made it clear that there is a union and that it will not be broken up easily,” Adorno said. “Aramark and Sodexho already know how we organize and what kind of living standard we expect. Chartwells knows, too, but we have had some trouble with them before at the negotiating table [while supporting other university workers in Connecticut].”
Mike Misenti, who has worked for three different providers during his 30 years at the University, said that when Aramark first arrived on campus in 1988, no immediate changes took place. However, according to Misenti, within a year there were large cutbacks that included job loss for about one-third of the University’s food service employees.
“The University said it wanted to stop subsidizing the food service provider,” Misenti said. “Aramark said, ‘No problem, we can do without subsidies,’ and then the next semester, they started cutting a lot.”
According to Aramark, throughout its 18-year partnership with the University, the corporation has collaborated effectively with administrators, students, faculty, and staff, leading to effective business and stable community relations.
Steinberg said that future staffing is still unclear.
“Once the bid process has been completed, we will have a better understanding of our staffing needs,” he said.
Ganzler of Bon Appétit said that her company would recognize the current union and look forward to bringing as many of the present staff members as possible into the Bon Appétit family.
“We do not anticipate a reduction of [workers’ employment status],” Ganzler said. “We treat our employees with respect, teach them about food and its importance in the world, and aid them in improving their culinary skills both for the workplace and for use at home to create healthy, great tasting meals for their own families.”
Chartwells expressed a similar commitment to food service workers.
“We understand that the food service associates are valuable members of the Wesleyan community,” Cornell said. “Chartwells operates numerous accounts where the food service workers are union members.”
Lackmann emphasized a desire to continue to employ the University’s current workers.
“Lackmann’s goal is to maintain [the University’s] current dining employees and have them join our family,” McManus said. “The key to a successful dining service operation is found in one basic, all important component…it’s the people.”
Parkhurst said that it favors meeting with food service workers individually and assessing their skills, motivations, and interests, as well as working with unions.
“During the transition process, we would work closely with the union to ensure a strong partnership between all parties,” Snyder said. “We look forward to hiring the current dining service workers who are interested in working for us.”
Sodexho also said that it would keep the present union workers.
“Sodexho is proud to work with [union] UNITE HERE 217 at three other campus locations in Connecticut, and we expect to hire the current union employees as Sodexho employees,” Barber said.
Last spring, the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) and other student groups drafted the “Concept of Dining,” a document that outlines how to improve campus dining. Each of the six competing corporations has received the “Concept of Dining” and has incorporated some of the suggestions into its overall plan.
Some suggestions include reducing required weekly meals for freshmen from 12 to five or eight, decreasing the required buy-in amount for the senior meal plan purchasers, and adopting more flexible hours of operation at dining facilities.
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