Sodexo adds meal options, takes look at more changes

Sodexo, the food provider for Belmont,  is adding meal options in response to student suggestions and complaints and has further plans for the fall.

Take 4 was put into action this semester and allows students to buy lunch with the required meal plan and take it to-go. They can pick four items from the selection that includes a sandwich, entrée and side salad, fruit, dessert and drink.

This addition was a response to students wanting more flexibility during lunch and dinner. Now, more than one in 10 students use it every day.

“The new Take 4 meal is great for sunny days when I want to eat outside with my friends or if I am in a hurry between classes,” said freshman Simone Beverly.

Sodexo developed the to-go meal in reaction to student suggestions by using three different methods: surveys, comment cards and an online forum,“Ask Adam.”

“Ninety-nine percent of the comment cards, we react to.” said Kyle Grover, general manager for Sodexo at Belmont. “Usually what the students want are very easy things. Things that we can fix. We only have jobs because of the students. Why wouldn’t we want to help them?”

Grover and his team are also working to choose the best food to stock in Corner Court, What’s Bruin and Curb Café. Each choice is based on the top 100 items in each category sold on campus.

One popular addition has been Naked Juice, a product of Pepsi Co. About 900 Naked Juice bottles are sold each week.

Grover said the changes have been a good financial move for Sodexo. Adding a grocery store on campus would not.
Rather than buying foods at wholesale price, Grover and his team would have to buy at market prices and raise prices on campus even more.

And as for the limited hours of operation? The Cafeteria is open until 7 on weeknights and 6:15 on Friday and Saturday nights. Curb Café is open eight hours throughout the weekend. Students may want more flexibility with the time food is available, but dining management said it would be financially impossible.

“Being open an hour later would add $80,000 a semester … and after 6:30 there’s only a spurt of people that come in the dining hall,” said Patti Piatt, operations manager for Sodexo at Belmont.

But Grover says that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

The list of future possible improvements includes a new smoothie stand, reopening the Starbucks kiosk, a convenience store in Bruin Hills and a Quiznos kiosk at the top of the hill that will sell sandwiches made in the Curb Café.