In search of “Ultimate Dining”
COMPARING SODEXHO AT TWU AND BRIERCREST
March 23, 2006
Alison Fraser
Cafeteria food: we love it or we hate it, but the reality for many residents at Trinity Western University is that we can’t live without it.
Not all students, however, are happy with the cafeteria. While the quality of food is a concern for many students who would like to see better fruit and healthier options, one of the most consistent complaints concerns money.
“Last semester I had to put 600 extra dollars on my card, and I was even eating at home every weekend to cut down the costs,” said first year student Adrian Richards.
Ali Penner, a commuter and vegetarian, also finds the cafeteria expensive.
“I’d like to get more for what I pay for,” she said.
Sodexho, the company that provides all food services on campus, also runs the Briercrest Bible College cafeteria in Caronport, Saskatchewan.
Alison Friesen, a second year student at Briercrest likes the way Sodexho has set up their cafeteria.
“Our meal plan is all-you-can-eat, so we basically pay a fixed amount at the beginning of the semester,” said Friesen who enjoys the freedom that Sodexho offers at Briercrest.
TWU doesn’t offer this dining program, called “Ultimate Dining,” but instead offers a “pay for what you get” approach. Each student who is on the basic meal plan pays $1250 for each semester, roughly about enough for $11 dollars a day.
Brad Wallbank, Director of Housing and Conference Services, works with Sodexho, students, and faculty towards finding the best dining plan for TWU students.
“We want to have the ability for students to give input,” said Wallbank.
Sodexho has looked into bringing Ultimate Dining to TWU. Plans for this approach have been on the backburner, however, because of budget constraints.
Ultimate Dining, Wallbank said, “is a unique way of delivering food services to students.” With this approach, a student pays for a fixed amount of meals each week. For example, the student pays for 15 meals a week, at $7.50 a meal, and is able to get as much food as they want at each of these 15 meals.
With Ultimate Dining, however, the freedom of our cafeteria would be lost. Only students who pay for a meal would be allowed out of the dining area, and students who do pay would not be able to take food with them.
“The cafeteria is the number one meeting place on campus,” said Wallbank. “It creates a place for students to build community so if your commuter friends can’t come in, that presents a challenge.”
Another challenge for students is pricing. Many are concerned that they pay too much compared to other university campuses. According to Wallbank, when Sodexho’s prices are compared to Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia food services, Sodexho’s prices are 10-15% lower.
Ashley Mansel is one of the many that are continually under budget.
“It would be nice to see some of that money at the end of the year,” said Mansel of the extra money on her card. Many students like Mansel would like to see this extra money given back to the student.
The system that is currently in place reinvests this extra money into TWU’s room and board services.
Extra money also goes into on-campus ministries: students can order lunches that will be sent downtown with ministries such as Street-E.
Wallbank admits that the current food plan fails a percentage of those who run out of money. However, Wallbank says they have seen 90-92% success rate.
“We have an agreement with Sodexho that they have to be willing to listen to students and their complaints, and act on those as quickly as possible,” says Wallbank. TWU and Sodexho, Wallbank said, “always need to be searching for improvement.”
To send your thoughts, requests, or concerns regarding Sodexho email food.feedback@twu.ca.
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