Over Jan Term, Sodexo has decided to make the Healthy Living station, between the Grill and the Deli, into a pasta bar. Instead of one station that caters to vegan, vegetarian, or allergy-safe diets, their new dining hall layout is designed to have every meal cater to these students’ needs.
The menu program used to select meal options, called Drive, is planned by the executive chef on a four-week rotation, according to the heads of Whitworth’s Dining Hall, Megan Helm and Daniel King. At the end of each meal, the chef can see how many servings were used at each station and adjust the meal preparations based on those numbers.
Their recent data showed that Healthy Living was not used by very many students, so they decided to redistribute those options to the other parts of the dining hall and bring back the pasta bar, which was previously held in Global. This allows for regular variety in the Global section and access to pasta on a regular basis, and now, diet-safe items are available for students at all stations.
With this change, some concerns have come from the students who utilized Healthy Living before it was dispersed.
Angélique Kaupa, a second-year Biology and Spanish major at Whitworth, is a vegan student who regularly used the Healthy Living station. She feels that this change isn’t a step in the right direction. She’s found that the vegan-accessible options available now are less appealing because they often come with the same kind of protein replacement: plain tofu, which can get boring fast. In her mind, meals should be enjoyable. “It’s something that you want to enjoy because food can be really good. Sometimes, they do have meals that you do enjoy eating. But for the most part, it’s mostly just pasta, or it’s rice with tofu.”
In response to these concerns, both King and Helm are asking for more communication from students. They agree that student feedback is important to their work and want the students they serve to know that they are approachable.
“Just come talk to us if you have concerns,” King says. “There’s my email; [you] can email me. [You] can stop by. I’m happy to take a walk around the servery and look at things with them. Comment cards and surveys let us know. Let us know what you want.”
You can also find information about changes to Sodexo offerings through signage in the dining hall like the monthly calendar they have posted near the dish drop-off.
To reach King or Helm, you can email them at their respective emails, [email protected] and [email protected], submit a comment card, fill out their surveys as they come out, or simply talk to them.
