On July 1 Aramark will replace Sodexho as the new Hopkins dining service provider, which was chosen by the Dining Contractor Selection Committee (DCSC) as the company best able to serve Hopkins' goal of becoming part of the Princeton Review's top 10 dining programs by 2008 and the top five by 2010.
"There is no reason I can accept as to why Hopkins' dining doesn't reach the quality of excellence that is expected of everything else at this University," Dave Furhman, director of the dining program, said. "We are going to demand of Aramark a dining service that will be a source of pride to this community."
"They seemed to be the best all-around company in terms of commitment to food quality and dining atmosphere. Additionally, Aramark made an effort to understanding Hopkins and our dining vision for the future. Also, they had a competent and organized managing staff, so when problems do arise they will be solved effectively," graduate student and DCSC member Eric Perlman said.
However, the change may jeopardize current Sodexho staff, who are concerned that the University's desire for excellence may compromise their jobs, wages or benefits because of higher staff standards. Many of the present employees have worked in dining services at Hopkins for nearly 40 years and have seen the transition between six dining service providers.
"I have been working here for 37 years and can remember when Johns Hopkins themselves took care of the dining services," one staffer at Wolman commented.
"The workers here are all part of a union, but we're worried because we were in the process of negotiating a new contract with Sodexho for next year and now with a new company coming in everything will be upset."
Sodexho workers have organized a petition for students to sign stating that they support the current staff members and want to see them remain at Hopkins as part of the dining service. As of
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Wednesday, April 5 over 450 students have signed the petition.
"While I obviously cannot guarantee anything to the current workers, because they are not my employees, the University has suggested and Aramark will be accepting applications from the staff," Furhman said. "Aramark will be looking for culinary trained chefs and cooks to drive their programs."
"Aramark is very enthusiastic about the changes that are being made," Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Paula Burger said. "And in order to reach the quality level of dining Hopkins is striving to achieve, we need extremely qualified individuals in the culinary field."
Burger added: "The concerns for workers are not just limited to job availability, but also benefits, such as medical coverage and wages. Many workers have fears of undercut wages as the cost of dining services increases dramatically."
"Aramark has worked with United Food and Commercial Workers [dining workers' union] in the Baltimore area and has prior relationships with the union workers, so I wouldn't be surprised if many employees stayed," Perlman said. "Also, Aramark is putting a culinary chef trainer on staff at all time because of the 'just-in-time' food services."
The main difference between the current Sodexho program and Aramark's intended program is fresh and made-to-order quality of food. "Currently, our food service is much like an expanded high school cafeteria," Furhman said, "where everything is prepared ahead of time and kept warm at the appropriate safe temperatures."
Furhman continued, "However, next year students will have the opportunity to request personal preferences as the food is prepared, such as how their burgers are cooked and what toppings they want on their personal brick oven pizzas."
In addition, during their proposal to the DCSC, Aramark suggested the possibility of inviting local chefs to cook unique meals inspired by locally grown foods. Also, they would like to have chefs give cooking classes open to students, faculty and staff and have weekly or monthly nutrition speakers to meet with students to discuss specific dietary needs.
Vegan and vegetarian-dining options will be improved because of new rules that will not allow cooking equipment designated for preparations of these foods to come into contact with meats products. The kosher options will also be expanded and improved. With all this improvement, concerns over the cost of meal plans to students have arisen.
"There will be an incremental increase to the cost of meal plans," Furhman said. "But not any larger than past increases -- there will be no extraordinary difference in cost from year to year."
University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago and Boston University are just three of the other nationally known universities where Aramark provides dining services. During their decision-making process, both Furhman and Burger traveled to these universities to evaluate the quality of food and atmosphere.
"I made a point of addressing students directly to see how they liked the food," Burger said. "All of them were very satisfied and some said that they eat better at college than at home."
