We applaud Hopkins' decision to drop Sodexho as the University's dining services provider. Years of unfulfilled promises and half-hearted food improvement initiatives left us disappointed and hungry for change. Finally, Hopkins has made a bold and decisive move, replacing Sodexho with rival Aramark.
We've been waiting for a long time for real improvements. Working with Sodexho only brought incremental progress, but we were still left dissatisfied. The University wanted to demonstrate its commitment to its stated goal of having a top-ranked dining program, and it's done the right thing in dropping Sodexho. Even the stigma of the Sodexho name itself was plenty of reason to try a new company.
Some questions remain unanswered, particularly how the University is going to pay for this improvement. After all, the administration has chosen Aramark's highest-quality (and most expensive) college dining plan. Dining Program Director Dave Furhman has commented that the changes, which will surely be costly for the University, will not lead to an unusual jump in the cost of meal plans. We can't help but wonder, however, just where all that money is going to come from. Most likely, if the increased price of the high-end Aramark plan is not reflected in the meal prices themselves, it will still eventually trickle down to our tuition. Hopefully the University isn't just moving its peas around on its plate to make us think we won't foot the bill for better food.
There's also the question of what will happen to the people who currently work in our dining system, some of whom have been around for nearly 40 years. More than 450 students signed a petition calling for current Sodexho workers to remain on staff with dining services. We concur with Aramark's decision not to automatically accept these workers, but rather to invite them to apply for jobs under the new contract. Part of our expectation for the employees that Aramark brings in is that they will be well-trained. It is unclear how much Sodexho invested in training its employees. We want the University to be fair, but we also want to be certain that the employees who come in under Aramark are the best possible workers.
Still, this is a bill worth paying. Though it remains to be seen whether Aramark will revolutionize dining at Homewood when it takes over on July 1, the University has made the wise decision to move on from an underwhelming Sodexho relationship.
