Food Service Article Published in 2005 Cabin Log

When a company that was named one of “America's Most Admired Companies”by FOURTUNE magazine in 2004 came to Berry Dinning Services, students were less than unanimously admiring of the change.  Aramark's arrival on campus was received in different ways by different groups of people.  It was impossible to say weather the change was good or bad; however, it could only be agreed upon that Dining Services was definitely different.

The changes to Dining Services began in May 2004. A bidding process was held, and Aramark was chosen to outsource operations beginning July 1, 2004. Berry College joined many colleges across the country, and more than 14 in Georgia, including Shorter,—in their decision to partner with Aramark. Outsourcing with a large company like Aramark has generally been done to lower costs and increase efficiency. 

A new lime green paint color may have been the first thing students noticed in the Dining Room, but the changes made to the food had the biggest impact on students. The Dining hall added an exhibition station, which served varieties of stir-fry, quesadillas and pastas that students could order to their specifications. While students generally enjoyed the fresh options, the long lines at peak meal times frustrated some students.  Sophomore Tommy Fleming said, “"I never ate at the exhibition line because it takes too long, but I've hard it tastes good. They needed to have more than two people working there." Other changes included a pizza station open during lunch and dinner, sandwich grills to make your own sandwich, and smoothies at breakfast. 

Valhalla also received a fresh coat of paint and changes to the food offered. Sophomore Keisha Harvey said, “"The food in Valhalla was much improved and I was glad we had it,"” but many students also would have agreed with her when she said, “"I missed the potato and salad bar, along with the yogurt machine."”  The changes in Valhalla meant saying good-bye to Saturday chicken fingers and fries; however, students enjoyed a wider selection of convenience foods, and prepared foods like southwest burritos and tacos from Izzi's, one of the new food stations added to Valhalla over the semester break. During the fall semester Food Services hosted several focus groups and asked students what kind of foods they would like to see. The efforts Food Services made to listen to student suggestions were evident in the popularity of Izzi's. Sophomore Ashley Radford said, “"Izzi's was pretty good for the food in Valhalla, it tasted like Moe's."” Another issue that students raised was the concern that the lines were too long during lunch to just grab a sandwich. Food Services accommodated student suggestions by offering a refrigerated case with pre-made sandwiches, salads, and other items during spring semester.

While the Bean'ry remained relatively unaffected, besides students' ability to pay with flex bucks, they did have some new competition. Over the semester break Java City Café was constructed in Memorial Library in the corner with the current newspapers. While some students were worried about noise at first, the library explained on their website that their goals in opening the coffee shop were to, "offer new opportunities for all of us to expand the concept of the library as a natural information commons, and utilize our wonderful facility in exciting and different ways."”

Other significant changes included prices of food and hours that different locations were open.  With continuous dining for the Dining Room and more weekend hours for Valhalla, students were able to have more choices. Instead of closing during the afternoon, and ending dinner at 7:00pm, the Dining Room was available for students who wanted a late afternoon meal, or who needed to eat dinner later. Students involved in afternoon activities especially appreciated the longer Dining room hours. Junior Laurie Cook, a member of the cross-country and track team, said, “"I don't know why the Dining Room ever closed at 7:00pm. It made it really hard on people who were on teams or clubs to get there in time to eat." The new hours were definitely more convenient for all students.”  Aramark also changed the meal plans.  For example, prior to Aramark, the middle level meal plan was $1215, with 110 meals a semester and $340 in Valhalla Account.  With the new changes, the middle level meal plan remained at $1215, but gave students 10 meals a week for more than 50 additional meals during the semester.  The middle level meal plan also gave students $350 in flex bucks that could be used in Valhalla, the Dining Room, the Bean'ry, or Java City Café. The Aramark meal plans also eliminated the 5-week allotments that forced students to budget their money.

One group of students that was significantly affected by the change to Aramark was the Food Service Student Workers.  Michael Cervantes Director of Dining Services said, “"The new style of cooking and preparing food was a physical job, so it was a little harder to retain student workers."” The students who worked for Cervantes may have agreed with his reasons, but also cited a different work atmosphere, and difficult policies as reasons that many workers disliked their jobs or quit. Sophomore Noel Southerland said, “"Last year, I truly felt as if the management's first priority was the worker.  This year it seemed to me that the main priority was to make money."”  One noticeable change was that workers were required to wear uniforms. While the funny chef hats and hairnets did not last long, they were replaced by Dining Services baseball caps. Other requirements included rubber shoe covers and button up shirts made by Aramark.  Southerland said, “"The students that we served sympathized with us because we had to wear goofy uniforms".” 

Dining services has seen many changes in facilities, food, and student jobs, and many more changes have been planned for the future. Cervantes described changes to the Dining Room that would include remodeling the seating area, adding a grill station, and moving the pizza and exhibition station to help with smoke. He said, “"After these changes we will just look at what changes need to take place based on student input."”