Students adjust to campus dining changes

Campus dining underwent numerous changes over the summer following the renewal of the College's campus dining contract with food service provider Aramark. These changes ranged from physical renovations to the All Campus Dining Center (ACDC) to a major shift in the structure of meal plans. At the request of the College, Aramark instituted an all-you-care-to-eat-meal system.

The College had an all-you-care-to-eat plan until 1993, but then switched to a pay-per-item system. According to Associate Dean of the College Raymon Parker, the all-you-care-to-eat system was adopted because students felt that the old pay-per-item system was unfair.

"The number one complaint students had last year had to do with points not equaling a dollar," explained Parker. Under the old plan, each point cost more than $1, leading to what Parker described as a "feeling that there was a great inequity between students on the meal plan and students who could pay cash for less."

For students not on the new meal plan, breakfast costs $9 in cash, lunch costs $11 and dinner costs $13. Students on a meal plan, however, pay less for each meal. For a student on the standard meal plan, for example, each meal costs $10.96.
Students can also buy block meals, meaning they pay for a group of 10 or more meals at once, at about $11 a meal.

In addition to the new payment method, trays have been removed from ACDC, although they remain available for students with disabilities. Parker explained that this change was made because the presence of trays in a dining hall leads to more waste. Indeed, according to an Aug. 25 article on msnbc.com, an "Aramark study of 186,000 meals served at 25 institutions found that when trays weren't used, food waste per person was reduced 25 to 30 percent."

The switch back to an all-you-care-to-eat plan has garnered a wide array of student reactions. The Vassar Student Association (VSA) Council discussed the challenges of the new meal plan at its first meeting on Sept. 8. Among the issues addressed by Council members were the frustrations felt by students who wish to sit socially in ACDC without purchasing a meal. Under the new system, students must pay to enter the seating area.
"I feel like the student body is screaming out that they need this to change," said Class of 2009 President Luis Hoyos on the new meal plan. Hoyos is also worried that students who lose their cards are not allowed to give the cashiers their student I.D. numbers as payment. "People are not eating because of that. People shouldn't be going hungry."

Noyes House President Sean Koerner '11 also noted the nutritional drawbacks to an all-you-care-to-eat plan. "The way that this meal plan is structured is really unhealthy. The incentive is to go two or three times a day and cram yourself with as much food as you can get to try to get a good value. The healthiest thing to do is to eat five or six small meals a day."

VSA President Jimmy Kelly '09 ended the discussion by calling for solutions to the meal plan problems. "We'd love to hear a resolution or a Council action coming from the Student Life Committee," said Kelly.

Parker acknowledged the difficulty of finding a healthy snack on campus. "That was supposed to be handled by the convenience store," he explained. "And because of construction delay over the summer, we're not going to be able to open that until second semester. So hopefully students will be satisfied with that." Information about the convenience store can be found on page 5.

King, who is employed by Aramark, was confident that the issues with the new system would soon resolve themselves. "When you're moving to a new meal plan, there's going to be a transitional period," she explained. "The other piece of the transitional period is really getting feedback from students and others on campus."

It was in response to student feedback that ACDC added the panini station and extra stir-fry stations late last week. Even the smaller pizzas at the Retreat and the larger pizzas at ACDC were inspired by feedback.

"One of the things we heard [last year] in ACDC was that there was no variety," said King. "So we're really trying to change that [this year]."

The new meal plan necessitated structural changes to ACDC. In order to make room for more stations, the cereal, beverages and sandwich stations were moved from the central area into the dining rooms. A large bakery section and a panini station were also added.
In the Retreat, a new fresh food station has necessitated the removal of the currently broken frozen yogurt station, which will eventually reappear in ACDC.

King explained that the changes were made as part of the first phase of a project that will eventually make ACDC into what Aramark calls a "Fresh Food Company." Ultimately the wall separating the kitchen from the serving area will be moved back into the kitchen so that each station can cook much of its food out in the open.

 "One of the problems with ACDC has always been the mystery of the wall," explained King. "What goes on behind the wall? There really is no connection between the students and [the people] who are cooking their food. The idea is to let students see their food freshly prepared in front of them like they do in the Retreat."

Another major concern of many students has been the long lines at ACDC during the first week of classes, which were due in part to a broken grill. King is confident that the lines will dwindle as the year goes on and students start branching out and finding new places to eat. This will be made easier now that all dining locations accept VCash, beginning this year. When it opens, Matthew's Bean will accept declining balance as well.

With so many different ways to pay for a meal, some students are confused as to which payment method is best. According to VSA Vice President for Student Life Nate Silver '10, when a student buys a set of block meals, he or she pays $11 per meal. This is less than the $13 the student would pay in cash for dinner, but more than the $9 the student would pay in cash for breakfast. However, Silver advises using VCash for purchases at the Retreat.

The VSA Council and Food Committee can answer further questions from students, as can King and Parker.