f you ask students what their least favorite experience at college has been, their response will be about food.
Here, we’re more specific: we dislike Sodexho.
It makes sense that we wouldn’t like the company providing food for our campus. Last year students were told it would be harder to be exempt from the meal plan since more students have to be on the meal plan for the food to improve.
So it wouldn’t matter if someone has taken classes at top culinary schools, or is a vegetarian with an aversion to beans and rice at every meal; Sodexho gets would-be grocery money to feed students food that many don’t particularly care for, or eat.
And now it looks like Sodexho wants money out of our student activities fee, too.
An announcement in the Guilford Beacon on Feb. 27 reminded the community that Sodexho has first rights to provide food at every event on campus.
If a club wants pizza for a meeting, they have to talk to Sodexho before they call Papa John’s or Pizza Hut.
If students or faculty members organize an on-campus event, Sodexho decides if they want to provide the drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Getting food from even the Co-op instead of Sodexho is a no-no, unless Sodexho decides they don’t want to cater the event. Then you’re free to get food from wherever you want.
The food Sodexho provides at these events isn’t necessarily what they serve in the caf, since it’s from the catering division. And it can be convenient to work with someone on campus when you’re organizing an event that needs food, right?
Rather, it would be if Sodexho Catering had menus and pricing to offer to those planning events. As it currently stands, you tell them how many people you’re expecting and how much you’re willing to pay. They tell you what possible food combinations they might provide.
You get no alternative.
Well, you can change oatmeal raisin cookies to chocolate chip, but it’s Sodexho that decides if they want to cater the event, not you deciding if you want what they offer you.
Theoretically then, if you want some exotic food that Sodexho can’t provide, they can tell you that they will provide sandwiches instead. You’d have to take Sodexho’s culinary offer if you want to have food at the event.
In practice that probably wouldn’t happen, but the fact that the possibility exists irritates me.
For all practical purposes this rule means no “shopping around” for cheaper prices or better quality, and no getting food donated, even if you’re planning a fundraising event.
I’ve encountered this rule before. I’ve ordered cookies and lemonade from Sodexho for events like the Open Mic that takes place Parents’ Weekend, and I’ll admit that it can work well. Sodexho provides all the extras, from food presentation to tablecloths that make the food presentation nice. That’s what caterers are supposed to do.
But I’ve also ordered pizzas for hundreds of people during Serendipity, and there are times when it’s silly to pay for the extra frills.
The reason we pay a student activities fee is because the clubs on campus use the money to add to our college experience. Occasionally clubs use that money to provide food for whoever wanders into a meeting or event.
We do not pay student activities fees because Sodexho needs more money.
We’re getting to a point where we have no choice where any food consumed on campus comes from.
Aren’t monopolies illegal in the United States?