Spring Break
Senate debates next food contract
McLean Bennett
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: News
A multi-million dollar contract, set to come onto the university's table this year, will have some major implications on what students will find on their own tables next year.
With the school's current food service contract through Sodexho set to expire at the end of the year, Student Senate turned its attention Monday to addressing student needs for the next contract - likely a seven-year deal with a large food services provider like Sodexho.
"There's a lot of problems with food service and they need to be fixed," Senator Aaron Wingad said after a meeting Monday during which Charles Farrell, director of the university's student centers, addressed Senate about the upcoming food contract.
The most important thing, Senate President Tim Lauer said, is identifying ways of reducing prices on campus, which have risen primarily because of a nationwide hike in food costs.
Lauer said one way to lower costs on campus might be to reduce the amount of funding provided to the Davies, Hilltop and Higherground student centers through dining revenue.
Under the current contract, Lauer said, dining revenues pump millions of dollars into all three centers. Most of that money is used to cover dining services' expenses, but the rest is used to pay for other things around the buildings, he said.
Lauer said reducing the amount of money food service providers must pay into student centers might lower food costs on campus. But Farrell said during the meeting that doing so would require finding another way to fund the buildings' operating costs - most likely through student segregated fees.
"Maybe that would be a solution and maybe it wouldn't," Lauer said, adding that at this point he feels changes in how student centers are funded by food services should at least be considered.
Senators also discussed opening the university to off-campus caterers - currently Sodexho is the only vendor allowed to cater events on campus - as well as bringing in different chain restaurants, offering more locally produced food and working to reduce food services' carbon footprint.
With the school's current food service contract through Sodexho set to expire at the end of the year, Student Senate turned its attention Monday to addressing student needs for the next contract - likely a seven-year deal with a large food services provider like Sodexho.
"There's a lot of problems with food service and they need to be fixed," Senator Aaron Wingad said after a meeting Monday during which Charles Farrell, director of the university's student centers, addressed Senate about the upcoming food contract.
The most important thing, Senate President Tim Lauer said, is identifying ways of reducing prices on campus, which have risen primarily because of a nationwide hike in food costs.
Lauer said one way to lower costs on campus might be to reduce the amount of funding provided to the Davies, Hilltop and Higherground student centers through dining revenue.
Under the current contract, Lauer said, dining revenues pump millions of dollars into all three centers. Most of that money is used to cover dining services' expenses, but the rest is used to pay for other things around the buildings, he said.
Lauer said reducing the amount of money food service providers must pay into student centers might lower food costs on campus. But Farrell said during the meeting that doing so would require finding another way to fund the buildings' operating costs - most likely through student segregated fees.
"Maybe that would be a solution and maybe it wouldn't," Lauer said, adding that at this point he feels changes in how student centers are funded by food services should at least be considered.
Senators also discussed opening the university to off-campus caterers - currently Sodexho is the only vendor allowed to cater events on campus - as well as bringing in different chain restaurants, offering more locally produced food and working to reduce food services' carbon footprint.
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