Building Block Associates

  • Home
  • Products & Solutions
    • View Supplies
    • What's In Season
    • Manage Mie Foodservice Manager
    • Foodservice Webinars
    • Become A Member
  • Online Store
  • Social Chat Blog
    • Foodservices News
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Home
  • Products & Solutions
    • View Supplies
    • What's In Season
    • Manage Mie Foodservice Manager
    • Foodservice Webinars
    • Become A Member
  • Online Store
  • Social Chat Blog
    • Foodservices News
  • Contact Us
  • Careers

Campus food providers under pressure from student tastes to revamp menus

6/7/2016

0 Comments

 
The University of Toronto’s downtown campus will cut ties with its food service provider, Aramark, later this summer and start running most of its on-campus dining options itself, the latest school to satisfy what appears to be a growing appetite for fresh meals.

Also read, 3/4 of Canadians like experiencing new cultures through food.

The move will centralize most of the St. George campus food operations and see a main kitchen provide fresh food to some retail outlets that don’t have kitchens and rely heavily on packaged food, said Anne Macdonald, the university’s director of ancillary services.

Chefs, for example, will cook soups and sauces from scratch instead of ordering from a production facility, Macdonald said. Such changes were called for by students, faculty and staff in focus groups leading up to the decision not to renew Aramark’s contract, she said.

“This is the voice of the students,” said chef Joshna Maharaj, who consults with universities and colleges on menu changes.

“They are increasingly dissatisfied — as they should be — with really highly processed foods and a campus food service that is sort of an irritating afterthought.”

Maharaj was once the assistant director of food services and an executive chef at Toronto’s Ryerson University. She helped the school revamp its menus several years ago. In 2013, the university was nearing the end of its food service contract with Aramark.

It asked food service providers for proposals on how to do things differently as students became increasingly displeased with expensive, low-quality eats, she said. The university partnered with Chartwells and a greater emphasis was placed on purchasing local, seasonal produce, among other changes, she said.

Last year, the Canadian Federation of Students voiced concern over the quality of campus food across Canada after images surfaced of raw meat and mouldy food served at Memorial University in St. John’s, N.L.

In Lethbridge, Alta., students voiced their desire for healthier options and local ingredients when the University of Lethbridge debated whether to renew Sodexo’s contract in 2012, said James Booth, executive director of the university’s ancillary services.

“They’re much more astute consumers and they have more refined needs,” he said. Booth compared the evolution of menu offerings to that of residence amenities. Twenty-five years ago, students lived in basic dormitories, he said.

“Today they have granite countertops, and they have flat-screen TVs and Wi-Fi and Netflix,” he said. “You have to keep up.”

The University of Lethbridge signed a contract with Aramark after their proposal fit the university’s vision for updated facilities and menus. It’s hard for schools to make such a dramatic shift from a system they’ve relied on for a decade or longer, said Maharaj. But the major food service providers know that educational and other institutions, like hospitals, are starting to follow consumer demands, she said.

She said it’s important for food service providers to be open to working with their clients to figure out how to better serve their needs. Aramark has started featuring more international flavours, as well as gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options at the several hundred schools it works with, said Karen Cutler, vice-president of the company’s corporate communications.

The company stays competitive and retains about 95 per cent of its clients by surveying students and following market trends to suit students’ “ever-changing needs,” she said in an email. Booth said the University of Lethbridge is happy with its partnership with Aramark so far. Maharaj said the schools and food service providers can work together to overhaul menus so that they offer more sustainable and healthy options.

“I think that they really could be allies and change agents, if we position them well and support them and ask them to do these different things.”

Source Aleksandra Sagan, The Canadian Press
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Go to blog
    Advertisement

    RSS Feed

    News & Updates

    Stay informed with the latest news around foodservice, agriculture and other related food news.

    Do you Enjoy our E-news & Updates?
    Get our foodservice E-news, blogs and LTO's sent to your inbox, SUBSCRIBE HERE.

    Advertisement Opportunities 
    To get your foodservice business in our daily e-news, here.

    Archives

    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    Agriculture And Food Safety
    All Day Breakfast Menu
    Beans Benefits
    Beverage Company
    Building Construction
    Candy Company
    Carbonated Drinks
    Chicken Farm
    Dairy Production
    Fast Food
    Fast Food Chains
    Food Prices
    Generation Z
    Genetically Modified Organisms
    Gluten Free
    Grocery Retailer
    Healthy Meals For Kids
    Imported Foods
    Imported Foods From Other Countries
    Liquor Licence
    Milk Industry
    Milliennials
    National Food Holidays
    Nut Allergies
    Organic & Natural
    Processed Foods
    Produce Industry
    Restaurant
    Restaurant Management
    Restaurant Ordering System
    Restaurateurs
    Seafood
    Sustainable Resources
    Sweet Snacks
    Sweet Tasting Desserts
    Tree Nuts
    Value Menu Offering
    Ways To Reduce Food Waste

    Picture
    Advertisement
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.