A drastic facelift will be coming to the Smith food court this summer as Aramark takes over food service on campus. Before the ink dries on the new contract that seals the deal, officials putting this new agreement together have asked for input from students, faculty and staff, but have gotten hopelessly few suggestions or comments.
Six students showed up to a recent session held by the parties writing the contract, and although over an hour was devoted to hearing opinions, a clear student voice was not present.
Informal conversations with students eating in Smith have yielded a few pearls of wisdom that nearly everyone agrees upon: the food needs to be cheaper, healthier and change frequently.
Value
Five dollars is a threshold that most students were not willing to pass. With plenty of choices off campus, just a block or two away, students just don’t get why a company as big as Aramark couldn’t offer a great meal for this price. Aramark and Sodexho are both giant companies with huge buying power, which translates to securing the best prices the wholesale food market can offer. These price cuts could and should be passed along to students.
Health
Healthy meals don’t need to be expensive. Whole grains, from pasta to bread, are not pricey. Nearly absent from the current choices, good carbohydrates will help old and young alike get through a day of learning with energy and focus.
Fresh vegetables are inexpensive, especially when in season. Menus could be more seasonal, celebrating asparagus for example, by highlighting it in various dishes during that time of year. Soups, pastas, salads and sandwiches could all feature seasonal produce.
Healthy is something that Sodexho doesn’t do very well. Aramark is planning a salad bar, but that may end up being iceberg lettuce from California, anemic winter tomatoes and a three-bean salad. That’s about as appealing as leftover pizza.
A salad bar is a great idea, but if it doesn’t get the care it deserves, it will be a waste of time. Salad dressings should be made from scratch, keeping out the water, sugar and anonymous fillers that make up a good portion of packaged dressings.
A wide selection of fruit in the salad bar would be wildly popular.
The salad bar should be available to go, and at a standard price, rather than by the pound.
Sandwiches
Noticeably absent from the Smith food court offerings has been a custom sandwich. Diners could fill out a sheet with all the options listed, including marinated tofu, grilled fish and vegan proteins. Consult with a vegan chef to have tasty recipes even a meat-eater would love.
Not everyone is willing or able to wait in line, so have readymade sandwiches available too, to grab and go.
Custom bowls
Take a lesson from our friends at New Season’s. Grab a bowl and troll the bar of ingredients, assembling a personalized stir-fry containing the ingredients you choose. Noodles, rice, Asian vegetables and tofu could all be ingredients in the salad bar. Homemade sauces could take the custom factor up another level. Sweet and sour, Asian barbecue and sesame soy are all inexpensive and great tasting.
Food made to order
Shifting the focus to food made to order would benefit the students tremendously. It is hard to get excited about a wilted rice bowl that has been warming under a heat lamp for hours, losing flavor and nutrition by the minute. Everyone likes picking the flavors they like, and finding a new combination.
Offering fewer, more customized choices allows for endless variations and keeps the mundane fresh.
Smoothies
Here’s hoping that Aramark will ditch Freshens Smoothies and offer an option that actually contains a majority, if not all, real fruit. Freshens flavors its drinks with “flavoring syrups” and just a few token chunks of frozen fruit, and it is evident from the taste. If franchises are the only option, Jamba Juice is a national chain that could fit the bill. Several drinks contain all fruit, in natural flavors that taste good.
Franchises
While opinion appears to be mixed on fast food and franchises, there is definitely a segment of the PSU community that is anti-big business. Some students will always eat fast food because it is cheap and portions are large. Why not find a company that is dedicated to healthy quick food? If the options are corporate, at least meet some of the other needs that students have stated: nutrition and variety.
David Henderson, sophomore, 20
“I’d like to see the pizza get better. Sometimes it’s kinda doughy. That is why I don’t eat it.”
“It’s obvious that everyone would like to see prices go down. I think things are overpriced in general.”
Suzanne Thompson, 34, senior
“I think that Noah’s is great.”
“I’d like to see more healthy options. Salad, vegetables and sushi are all good for me.”
“Maybe if there could be more non-meat or vegan-type foods, other than garden burgers, which aren’t really that healthy.”
“I wish it was cheaper. I can’t afford $5 a day, even though that seems like what lunch costs these days.”
Naomi Marshall, 25, senior
“I’d like to see better coffee choices, and cheaper if possible. If Food for Thought does $1 Stumptown coffee, then I’m assuming they could do it too.”
“The number one thing I don’t want to see is fast-food joints. No Taco Bell. Please don’t bring that back. “
“Healthier options would be great, too, but would anyone want to eat it?”
Shane Orr, 37, senior
“I’d like to see more variety in the menu–maybe one that could change more frequently. I get tired of pizza and burgers after a while.”
“Cheaper food–we are college students after all. I think $5 is a fair amount to spend.”
Condrew Allen, 22, junior, and Phil Humphrey, 21, senior
“I’d like to see more Mexican food. I liked Taco Bell–it was cheap and filling. I used to eat there all the time.”
“The food here costs a lot.”
“We live on campus, but eat here most of the time because the food there is ill. Too much pork.”
“Before [Sodexho], there used to be a place to buy drinks cheap and cut fruit. I want to see that back.”