By Kasey Myers
With every fall comes a distinctive change in the air. Students are noticing this fall has also brought with it a change in the to-go meal policy in the dining hall. As the semester picks up, more and more students are finding the shift in policy frustrating and an unnecessary source for stress.
Students with particularly busy schedules like sophomore Justina Fuqua have become increasingly frustrated with the change in policy.
“I find it ridiculous that I am paying for a soggy peanut butter jelly sandwich and a side,” Fuqua explained. “It’s just not fair to students that have such a packed schedule to get such a low quality meal.”
However, Sodexo General Manager for Bluffton University, Eric Dyar begs to differ.
Dyar argues that there has been no change in the policy regarding to go meals. Rather the policy which was previously in place has been enforced this year.
“What we are budgeted for is the one entrée—either the salad, the sandwich or the wrap—[and] the side item which is the pasta salad cup, potato salad cup, the fruit cup or a bag of chips. The drink that is supposed to be included according to the program is a fountain beverage. We throw in the water just for a convenience factor. And then the cookie comes with the plan.”
Dyar also noted some expenses that students may not take into consideration where to-go meals are concerned.
“I would say one of the biggest challenges from the operational side is the plastic wear that the to-go meals are packaged in sometimes costs more than the food item we are serving,” Dyar said.
Dyar also noted that to go meals are not intended to replace a meal in the commons, but merely to supplement it.
“I think that it is important to note that the to-go meals won’t have the same variety as eating in the commons,” Dyar said.
Still, students want the most bang for their buck when it comes to their meal plans. Fuqua has a suggestion.
“To go boxes,” Fuqua said. “Like an individual pizza box that we can go around and get what we want in there.”
Dyar has a message for dissatisfied students.
“I would like to have a conversation to see what we can do to maybe make changes, to make it more appealing.”
To send feedback to Sodexo, go to https://bluffton.sodexomyway.com/people/index.html or fill out a comment card in the dining hall.
