2008 Woodie Awards
Aramark takes action, finally
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: Op-Ed
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Has your mom ever told you, "That's not lunch food!"? Or maybe, "If you drink all of that soda you won't be hungry for dinner!"? Part of the experience of attending college and not living at home is about freedom and your ability to exercise more of your own freedoms. The freedom to decide whether or not to go to class. The freedom to decide whether or not to do your work. And the freedom to decide what you want for lunch. But Aramark, the same foodservice provider that has constantly and consistently diminished the quality of their food and the quality of their service, feels that they have the mother-like duty to tell us, "This is not a good meal." And the University has done nothing to stop them.
Most students have noticed, and many have complained, that two new restrictions-on top of the many others already in place-have taken affect at Rams Head Food Court in Sykes. Prior to the writing of this editorial, students were unable to purchase more than one beverage with their Meal Cash Credits (Aramark terminology for what we call "one meal" or "two meals"). Additionally, Meal Cash Credits could not be used to purchase any number of "convenience items," what Aramark calls pre-packaged foods such as candy and chips. These were just two more ways Aramark was controlling what students could do with their own money.
"We decided that it was too cost prohibitive to continue allowing multiple bottled beverages with a meal cash credit," said Matt Seamon, Director of Operations for Dining Services. He explained that Aramark isn't trying to act as our mothers in telling us what items and how many of them make up a decent meal, but rather, most of the new restrictions have been implemented on financial and contractual grounds.
Seamon did admit Aramark failed to communicate the two newer restrictions to students properly. In light of this, he released a statement from Aramark that, in part, said:
"We understand your frustration and have heard your concerns about the limit of one bottled beverage per Meal Cash Credit. We also understand that there was a lack of communication regarding this. We apologize for the lack of communication and have decided to rescind the policy for the remainder of the fall semester. We will be accepting two bottled beverages for the remainder of the fall term. The one bottled beverage per Meal Cash Credit will be effective for the spring term."
Most students have noticed, and many have complained, that two new restrictions-on top of the many others already in place-have taken affect at Rams Head Food Court in Sykes. Prior to the writing of this editorial, students were unable to purchase more than one beverage with their Meal Cash Credits (Aramark terminology for what we call "one meal" or "two meals"). Additionally, Meal Cash Credits could not be used to purchase any number of "convenience items," what Aramark calls pre-packaged foods such as candy and chips. These were just two more ways Aramark was controlling what students could do with their own money.
"We decided that it was too cost prohibitive to continue allowing multiple bottled beverages with a meal cash credit," said Matt Seamon, Director of Operations for Dining Services. He explained that Aramark isn't trying to act as our mothers in telling us what items and how many of them make up a decent meal, but rather, most of the new restrictions have been implemented on financial and contractual grounds.
Seamon did admit Aramark failed to communicate the two newer restrictions to students properly. In light of this, he released a statement from Aramark that, in part, said:
"We understand your frustration and have heard your concerns about the limit of one bottled beverage per Meal Cash Credit. We also understand that there was a lack of communication regarding this. We apologize for the lack of communication and have decided to rescind the policy for the remainder of the fall semester. We will be accepting two bottled beverages for the remainder of the fall term. The one bottled beverage per Meal Cash Credit will be effective for the spring term."
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