‘Disgusting and disturbing’: Parents voice concerns about Eatery conditions

Members of “University of Pittsburgh Parents,” a Facebook group with over 7,000 members, raised concerns regarding reports of uncooked chicken being served in The Eatery over the last few weeks. 

“We got undercooked chicken at The Eatery during move-in last week,” Amanda Williams, parent of a sophomore student, said. “Thankfully, I cut into the chicken before eating it since I had undercooked wings at Pitt last year, too.”

Courtney Keady, a parent of a first-year student, echoed Williams’ concerns, arguing that the food quality falls short of what people expect when paying tuition.

“Pitt is an elite school. Our kids are bright. They need fuel, and we are paying through the nose to have our daughter there,” Keady said. 

Andrew Elliott, wellness chair of the Student Government Board, said he has seen an increase in reports made to him about food quality over the last few weeks. 

“Multiple students have reported the food to me over email or in person,” Elliott said. “It’s typically meats that students report have been undercooked, while vegetables are usually the center of complaints around items like cross-contamination and pests in the food.” 

When contacted by The Pitt News, Pitt Eats offered a tour of the Eatery and arranged a sit-down interview with Steve Schurr, vice president of operations at Chartwells Higher Education Dining Services, the company behind Pitt Eats. Schurr acknowledged the reports and outlined new steps being taken to address the situation. 

“Whenever we hear these kinds of things, we immediately open an investigation and try to respond as soon as possible,” Schurr said. 

Schurr highlighted changes that have been made in food safety practices since receiving initial reports on Sept. 1. 

“We temp all of our food every two hours, but we’re now checking those every one hour,” Schurr said. “We’ve called the Board of Health to come reinspect us, and we’re doing additional internal audits.”

On Sept. 9, The Eatery received a “satisfactory” score in all categories inspected, including cooking temperatures, probe-type thermometers, pest management and certified food protection managers.

Keady reached out to Schurr after her daughter took a photo of what appeared to be an undercooked chicken breast. Schurr explained that the University has recently transitioned to using halal chicken thighs, and they are reviewing cooking processes to ensure proper preparation.

“[This change] was made in an effort to create a more inclusive dining experience for all students, including our Muslim population here on campus,” Schurr said. 

Shortly after the complaints circulated on Facebook, Pitt Dining Services sent an email on Sept. 4 to meal plan holders addressing the concerns.

“We are aware of the posts made on the Facebook page regarding the food served in The Eatery,” the email states. “Chicken that has a slight pink hue can be attributed to reasons other than being undercooked.”

Schurr emphasized that students can report food safety issues through the Foodborne Illness Report, which is monitored regularly. The Eatery is also equipped with HappyOrNot kiosks that allow students to rate their dining experience in real time, and they are adding a new “text-to-chat” feature that will be launched within the next two weeks.

“We coach our team to be welcoming because we want our guests to deal with their issues in real time,” Schurr said. “Real time feedback is the best. “Students can text a message that will go straight to our management team, and those concerns will be addressed immediately. For those who don’t feel comfortable providing in-person feedback, you can still do it in real time without having to talk to anyone.” 

According to Williams, University employees have not been responsive or helpful when her daughter reports undercooked food to them in real-time.

“She [a worker in The Eatery] kind of just shrugged and said there was nothing she could do about it,” Williams said. 

Elliott still feels that the University is not taking concerns seriously enough. 

“Of the 33 item list that the food safety inspection report encapsulates, they only actually inspected six items,” Elliott said. “They did not inspect a number of items directly having to do with the proper temperature of food including reheating temperatures and holding temperatures.”

Keady echoed this, saying her daughter was “warned” as an incoming first-year because of stories over multiple years. 

“My daughter was warned about The Eatery as an incoming freshman, so we discussed to never eat chicken without cutting it first to see how it’s cooked,” Keady said. “When reporting her chicken, they told her ‘it’s just thigh meat.’ She knows what she’s looking at. This has been an ongoing issue for four years. How hasn’t this been addressed permanently? When will Pitt fix this and feed our children so they can better this world?”

Elliott said that the recent reports have caused him to avoid campus-affiliated restaurants. 

“Not only is the safety a major issue, but the response to it from the University has been nothing more than a shrug,” Elliott said. “It’s caused me to avoid getting a dining plan and focus more on preparing my own food at my apartment.”

Elliott called on the University to take responsibility. 

“Pitt always says the dining halls are run by Chartwells, so that’s their responsibility, but the University absolutely has a responsibility to provide nutritious and safe dining options,” Elliott said. “If their current suppliers cannot provide that, then Pitt should be looking for other options.”