2008 Woodie Awards
Students speak out, Sodexho makes changes
Nadine Anheier & Jennifer Bhargava
Issue date: 1/9/06 Section: News
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The five-year contract was awarded Dec. 20 and will be effective in August, with several changes.
"[Sodexho] is not going to be the same service that was provided in the past," said Rick Anderson, assistant vice chancellor for Administration and Finance.
He stated the University had been looking into other food services since July. The University Food Committee had also received bids from Chartwells and Aramark, but according to some Food Committee members, Sodexho placed the best bid.
"They looked really good on paper," said Julie Coon, UMKC student and Food Committee member. "They want to impress the administration, but they're going to have to impress the students first."
When the announcement was made, hundreds of students were outraged. Activist group Tent State sent out an e-mail to students notifying them of Sodexho's contract renewal and encouraging them to e-mail administrators. Tent State even provided an automatic form on its Web site for students to enter their e-mail address, type a message and send.
"We received 300 e-mails from students expressing what they want to see changed with our current service," said Mel Tyler, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. "Some students provided very thoughtful and informative information about what they wanted in a food service, whether it be Sodexho or not."
Tyler forwarded each e-mail to Sodexho and outlined the students' main concerns for them, using surveys conducted by the residence halls' food committees.
"I think because of those e-mails we're going to see some changes," said Coon. "We're going to have open forums [about Sodexho] right when school starts…it's really important to have that open dialogue because we've had a lot of students complaining."
