SGB board member working with Pitt Eats to improve on-campus dining

In response to students’ concerns about food safety, one SGB board member has worked closely with Pitt Eats and Chartwells, the University’s dining provider, to improve dining standards at on-campus dining locations. 

“I knew I had to be that student voice to Pitt Eats. Before this year, they didn’t have that many opportunities to interface with students,” Evan Levasseur, SGB wellness liaison, said. “It’s been really beneficial for them to hear a student’s side of things.”

Levasseur’s meetings with Pitt Eats have led to several changes, including the switch from fresh to frozen vegetables after bugs were found in The Eatery’s broccoli, improvements in the handling of raw proteins, and the implementation of various methods for gathering student feedback, such as town halls and surveys.

Levasseur, a sophomore public health major, began his efforts after recurring complaints among students about food at The Eatery, particularly regarding undercooked meals and pests found in food. 

“I set up meetings with Chartwells as soon as I heard the complaints,” Levasseur said. “The issues were really pressing me at the time. It was something that definitely needed to be addressed immediately.”

Since September, Levasseur has worked with Chartwells to establish stricter food preparation guidelines and increase training for dining staff. Currently, all raw meats are prepared exclusively by managers, and only frozen vegetables are served to reduce the risk of contamination from pests.

“[Chartwells’] reaction time has been really impressive. Retraining their staff and moving from fresh to frozen produce has been so productive and admirable,” Levasseur said. “It’s not just words. There are actionable changes they’ve made to the way they’re preparing food to make it better for student safety.” 

In his meetings with Chartwells, Levasseur aimed to help students feel “safe and satisfied” with their on-campus dining experiences.

“This initiative is really important because this is our kitchen. Students don’t have any way to get food besides their meal plan,” Levasseur said. “This is our home-cooked meal. It’s so important our food is safe.” 

He has also tried to gather student feedback for the dining provider, encouraging them to hold a town hall meeting and promote a survey to hear student experiences. 

“Most recently, Chartwells introduced a ‘Text2Chat’ feature where students in The Eatery can literally get responses in 10 minutes,” Levasseur said. “They’re trying really hard to hold more events, too, so they can get student feedback.”

Since beginning his work, Levasseur explained he’s “very impressed” with Chartwells’ response to the student feedback they’ve gathered. 

“Chartwells is very open to talking with students, and if they see a need that students have, they truly want to address it,” Levasseur said. “Their responsiveness actually surprised me in a way, because it’s not what you’d expect from a big company like Chartwells.” 

Levasseur said his biggest challenge has been engaging students in dining and wellness initiatives. Despite concerns about food safety, he said many students are unsure how to provide feedback.

“It’s honestly a little frustrating there are so many students who have concerns about dining, but we’re not able to reach all of them to get their opinions,” Levasseur said. “I know every student with a meal plan has an opinion about The Eatery. Some students won’t even eat there, and I want to fix that.”

Levasseur explained that his focus on food safety began when he became “frustrated” with meal swap options on campus. 

“What got me interested in food in general was when fruit was taken off the meal swap at the Forbes Street Market,” Levasseur said. “When I got back to campus this fall, food safety had become a huge issue for students, so my initiative kind of transformed into that.” 

Beyond food safety, Levasseur’s role as wellness liaison includes more initiatives focused on student well-being. Looking to the future, he plans several projects to “improve campus safety and inclusivity.”

The journey to Levasseur’s current role began with his involvement on SGB’s first year council, a group that helps foster leadership skills in first-year and transfer students. 

“I did student government in high school, and I loved making changes and connecting with the administration,” Levasseur said. “Through [first-year council], I got to work on so many initiatives and meet a lot of amazing people.” 

Levasseur said his experience on the council sparked his interest in student advocacy and helped him handle the issues he addresses today. 

“I always had concerns about meal swap options, but when I was a first-year, I felt like I couldn’t really do much about it,” Levasseur said. “But when I came into my role as a board member, I realized I had a role where I could truly advocate for change.” 

Levasseur hopes that his efforts, both in dining and wellness, will leave a lasting impact on the Pitt community.

“When I started working on this [initiative], I had no idea how much good it would bring,” Levasseur said. “I would love to be the person students can reach out to if they want to bring change.” 

Levasseur encouraged students to take the “Voice to Vision” dining survey or to contact him at EJL95@pitt.edu with any concerns or suggestions regarding wellness on campus.