You may have heard that the Parkland College Board of Trustees approved the bids for the Student Servies Center on January 25th.
What you may not have heard yet is that in
preparation for expanded food services in the Student Services Center, we have been investigating our options for food service.
Currently, we are served by Chartwell's and have been for the past ten or so years.
About a year ago, we coordinated a Request for Proposals, a survey of staff,and students, and site visits to
responding companies.
Our intent was to both assess our current
services as well as the wants and desires of our student population,
staff, and faculty. Student Government leaders were very much
involved in the process, given that most of our student (and staff) feedback over
the past few years has been quite critical of both cost and quality of
services from our current vendor, Chartwells.
The process culminated at the Board meeting on the 25th, where our consultant outlined the results of our process. Two Student Government
representatives will briefly discuss their opinions followed by Linda
Moore and Jim Bustard, who led the process.
At
the conclusion of their report, I recommended to
the Board that we enter into an agreement with a new vendor, Food for
Thought, based in the Chicago-area. See: http://www.fftchicago.com/
Although Food For Though is a smaller, regional company, their food
quality and approach to academic institutions is, in our opinion,
superior to what we currently have.
We are anticipating a change-over around spring break. I am excited about the possibilities.
Very exciting news. This will hopefully be an improvement for vegetarians on campus :-)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't be happier. This news has made my day!
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can start looking at options for H-wing next? A cafeteria is not realistic, but even vending machines with a little more than chips would be an improvement (ie apples, fruit, sandwiches, etc).
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the wonderful news! I look forward to seeing and tasting what the new vendor will offer!
ReplyDeleteThis is great news if not only will we have better choices but also will they be priced better?
ReplyDeleteSounds good. While I'm glad the current company has taken heed and put more healthy choices into place, their successor seems as if they can offer even more.
ReplyDeleteOne question: will the workers who are in place now be able to retain their jobs?
Hey, Anonymous stole my question. I'm hoping the answer is yes...
ReplyDeleteThose decisions will be made by the new company.
ReplyDeleteI would hope that we can provide some constructive input so that the current workers are allowed the opportunity to continue on with Parkland. Several of them have been here for years and many of them supplement their incomes because what they receive through the current company does not provide a livable wage. Thanks.
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