Students eat up new options

After Sodexho Food Services promised students an increase in quality and quantity in kosher… After Sodexho Food Services promised students an increase in quality and quantity in kosher and vegetarian fare, students were greeted by empty shelving last Monday in Eddie’s eatery.

“We got completely wiped out Sunday,” said Martin Millner, Sodexho’s general manager said. “Now we have the problem of deciding how much food to put there.”

Sure enough, visitors to Eddie’s during the Tuesday lunch rush found Sodexho employees filling the shelves with various dry goods and coolers filled with kosher and vegetarian meals.

By Oct. 11, Pitt students can expect to see a new side of Sodexho, Millner said. By that time, the changes to dining services are expected to be complete, with a larger variety of prepackaged and manufactured salads and kosher and vegetarian food choices.

Sodexho began revamping dining services late this summer. Students were met with the most notable change — the removal of salad bars from Eddie’s and the Schenley Cafe — the weekend before classes began. Soon after, Sodexho officials announced they had been working hand-in-hand with Hillel Jewish University Center, through Executive Director Aaron Weil.

Weil, in turn, has begun plans to create a focus of Pitt students who are affected by the changes.

“We’ve been putting up fliers, talking to different groups of people,” he said. “The problem is, it’s currently the Jewish High Holy Days, and we can’t really do anything. It’s a real crazy time.”

Millner said he wants to hear more student feedback regarding the decisions made by dining services.

“I haven’t heard much from the students,” he said. “I want the students to feel free to come to me and share their opinions. We need their input and feedback, both positive and negative.”

Adam Flager, a junior at Pitt, is one of many students to voice his opinion concerning the changes made by Sodexho. As a Jewish student attending Pitt, Flager has tried to deal with the new options available to students who observe the dietary restrictions set by kosher laws.

“It’s not like great food, but it’s an improvement,” he said.

Flager’s biggest complaint about the new food options is the increase in the price. While he said he understands that it costs more to prepare a meal by kosher standards, he is amazed by the prices students are being charged.

“It’s a little expensive,” he said. “For a packaged meal — like beef brisket, a vegetable and one other thing — it’s $6.25, a dollar more than one block.”

“I eat a lot of food. I’m 20 years old and have a fast metabolism. Six dollars and 25 cents is a lot,” he added. “I feel like there’s no point in raising the price that much. It’s simple economics.”

“How many people will get turned off and not buy the food?” he asked.

Flager added that the students to whom he has spoken seem happy with the changes overall, but that they would like to see more of a variety.

According to Flager, there are four different foods on display in the cooler: a sandwich, a vegetarian entree, a chicken entree and a beef entree. He said he would like to see offerings of more deli meats, different types of beef and chicken, and even something like spaghetti and meatballs.

“Right now, you get half of, say, a pastrami sandwich, and not much meat. Why not put in a deli with kosher meats?” he asked.

Flager said he thinks that more students would be interested in the changes, but that not many know about it.

“Advertise,” he said. “A lot more kids will eat it. As long as the quality is still there — that’s what they were raised on.”

Millner said he understands the concerns that students have and wants to give them the quality of food to which they are accustomed.

“We try to make decisions that are in the best interest of the students and dining services on this campus,” he said. “People’s tastes and habits change on a regular basis, and we need to be responsive to that.”