On Monday Bon Appétit and the Residential Advisory Board (RAB) teamed up to host a dining meeting, inviting students to voice their opinions regarding campus dining over a catered dinner.
“[The meeting] is basically to open up our arms to the student body, saying, ‘Give us feedback, tell us what you want to see, tell us the things that are good, tell us the changes that you would like us to make,’ because we like to approach things with open arms,” Ty Paup, general manager of Bon Appétit, said.
Bill Connor, director of Dining Programs, hosted the event. Connor let the students grab dinner from the buffet, which included salad, Brussels sprouts, chicken, stuffed mushrooms and cupcakes. He then asked for feedback on each campus dining location: Charles Street Market, Levering Hall, Nolan’s on 33rd and the Fresh Food Café (FFC).
Since the University switched dining providers from Aramark to Bon Appétit for the 2013-2014 school year, Bon Appétit has hosted two dining meetings per semester, open to all students. Last year, The Daily Meal ranked the University as second for college dining in the nation.
“We’re really proud to announce our number two ranking. For us moving forward, to keep that in the back of our head to try to be the next number one dining program — that’s our goal, and we’ll continue to work on that,” Connor said.
Although the comments varied widely, there were many complaints regarding the incorrect labeling of dishes in the FFC, the lack of milk in most dining halls around campus and service issues in Charles Street Market.
“The labeling in general, specifically the gluten-free labeling, is the biggest issue for me,” freshman Taylor Veracka said.
Although there were complaints and criticisms, most students praised the dining company and especially noted its improvement from the previous provider.
“I saw the transition from our previous management to here and how the food has changed. As a vegetarian, there’s been a lot more options [available] to me. And for a college campus to have a dining management plan that is all for supporting our local economy is truly admirable, and I just love being a part of that,” senior Lena Miller said.
Upperclassmen and underclassmen alike, despite their differences in dining requirements, praised the company.
“I’m still on a meal plan even though I don’t have to be because I like the food here, and so it’s great to know that I can come to these sorts of events and give feedback on what’s happening and actually see things as they improve,” sophomore Noemie Keller said.
Above all, most students were impressed with the meeting itself and its execution.
“Bill [Connor]’s really good at facilitating the conversation and comments and making sure it’s flowing, and the staff are there taking notes, and hopefully we see the changes. They have a really good track record for a comment being made and a change happening,” Miller said.
RAB co-hosts these dining meetings to allow students to feel included in the dining process and to allow the customers of the student-dining relationship to voice their opinions.
“Bon Appétit really likes getting feedback, and this is just a pretty fun event to put on because we get to work so closely with them and get a nice meal,” Alyssa Brann, community advisor of RAB, said. “We hold two a semester to get a beginning of the semester feedback and then towards the end to see if they’ve fixed anything. It’s a great way for them to get feedback directly from the students, and that’s why they run this and pay for all the food.”
The students, dining company and RAB all felt strongly about the necessity of the meetings and their impact on the relationships among the groups.
“It’s excellent to see how well we interact with the students, the feedback I’ve been hearing and seeing from the students and the food that we prepare — how focused we are on that and what it means and the impact that it does have,” Connor said.
Although making every student entirely happy with the dining options on campus is nearly impossible, Bon Appétit aims to make the changes that students collectively feel strongly about.
“At a meeting like this, things can become individualized, but when it’s collectively as a group, you start hearing that there’s a common concern or a positive on both ends that come up; it’s more of an impact,” Vincent McPhail, resident district manager of Bon Appétit, said. “It’s difficult to individualize when you’re serving 5,000 people, but when collectively you hear something specific, it can be better corrected.”
The dining management and RAB will continue to host these dining meetings twice a semester, and they urge all students to participate. Their announcements go out to the student body via the University’s “Daily Announcements” emails.
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