Chartwells Dining Services on campus offers few items for under $2, and surveys done by the administration suggest that students don’t want them.
“We bring the product that our customer wants. The majority of students want meals,” said Jerry Basford, assistant vice president for student affairs over business and auxiliary services.
A few years ago, fast-food restaurants competed with each other to create “dollar menus,” and Chartwells played along with items such as 99-cent hamburgers.
At the end of the night, workers were throwing away more than they sold, Mike Paulus, district manager for Chartwells at the U, said.
Off-campus restaurants, such as The Pie Pizzeria and B&D Burgers, offer several items for under $2-including salads.
Franchises such as Wendy’s, Taco Bell and Burger King offer even more variety.
On-campus options are available, but limited. This is because it is not cost-effective to the U, Basford said.
The university has to provide facilities for food companies and wants to make a profit from them in order to maintain and improve the facilities, he said.
That means prices have to be higher in order for the vendor to pass profits on to the U. Low-budget food items don’t sell as well and don’t make as much profit, Basford explained.
When the U contracted franchises in the past, such as Taco Bell, the prices were too low for the U to profit from the franchise. Money was spent to support the franchise, but none came back, he said.
Jenny Elkins, a junior in business, said she has to eat a good lunch on campus because she can’t take time off work in the evenings to eat.
She said she likes the meal deals offered by Chartwells, but wishes there were more variety.
Basford said Elkins is typical.
“We really try to ask students what they want, and what they said was more options,” he said.
Surveys suggest there is some dissatisfaction among students with prices, Basford said, but the majority of comments by far request more variety because students rely on Chartwells for daily meals. Mikato Ninomiya, a junior in art, said he has to eat on campus when he’s working late and is willing to pay more for better food.
“At Wendy’s and other places, you have to go off campus and spend more time,” he said.
To meet the demands of 20,000 daily customers who want variety, Chartwells has to introduce new items every semester. This semester, Coyote Jack was chosen to replace the franchise Chick-fil-A because more types of sandwiches could be offered from the same amount of space, Paulus said.
To balance price with profitability and variety, Chartwells tries to have as many meals averaging $5 as possible, he explained.
Max Rohr, a sophomore in behavioral science and health, has a meal plan but wishes Chartwells had more cheap food so he could get more for his money.
“I’d rather get five things than just the two things I can buy now,” he said.
Bret Mooney, a junior in civil engineering, brings snack food to campus because he can’t afford to buy meals. Megan Smith, an undecided junior, lives off campus and prefers to walk home for food because it’s cheaper.
Despite many students’ dissatisfaction, campus food services has to do what market research shows makes the most money and serves the most people, Basford said.
To allow students to have more food for less money, the U is examining better meal plans for commuters, he added.