Playing With Food: Examining FSU Campus Dining Efforts

In 2013, Frostburg State University declined to renew its catering contract with Aramark, instead opting to switch to Chartwells, a campus dining subsidiary of Compass Group, the largest food catering company in the world. As with any government contract, variations in satisfaction have occurred on the Frostburg campus.

“I like the new food service that Frostburg has. It’s better and, in my opinion, it’s just a little nicer. I really enjoy the food choices,” said Jackie Nava, a junior at FSU majoring in Exercise & Sports Science.

David Glenn, FSU’s Director of Dining Services, has taken significant steps to interact with students in hopes of gaining feedback to make Chartwells a high quality and healthy dining experience at the university. From online evaluation mechanisms to student feedback forums, from social media pages to physical comment boxes located in Lane University Center and in the Chesapeake Dining Hall, Chartwells has prioritized communication, hoping to improve operations for both FSU’s student body and university faculty and staff.

“I like feedback,” Glenn said of Chartwells receptiveness, “nobody wants to hear it, but I need to hear it.”

“I like feedback. Nobody wants to hear it, but I need to hear it.” - David Glenn, Director of Dining Services

April Baer, FSU Wellness Coordinator, commended Chartwells for its desire to constantly improve, describing Glenn as very responsive and easily approachable. She further asserted that Chartwells provides a wide variety of “fair opportunities for healthy foods to choose from.”

“At Chesapeake Dining Hall [for instance] there are more options for students who range from being vegetarian, vegan, and more. I approve that Chartwells has provided more support for students,” said Baer. Chesapeake Dining Hall even has a system to provide students with nutritional information as well as important ingredients of each dish in order to inform students with special diets.

Linda, a full-time employee in Chesapeake Dining Hall, prepares macaroni and cheese - a vegetarian meal.

“The system that we have prints out the labels that serve as identifiers. It has a symbol for whether the dish is vegan, vegetarian, or whether it’s supposed to be healthy for you,” said Jeff Maust, one of the managers in Chesapeake Dining Hall. “We also have a little kiosk, an iPad, at the front door so that those eating can actually pull up the dish and it will tell you all of the ingredients that are in the dish.”

The Frostburg dining website administered by Chartwells also features nutritional information, containing categories such as “Balance U,” “Nutrition Tools,” “Nutrition Links,” “Nutrition Questions,” and “Choose Your Plate.”

Since Chartwells began operations in 2014, the company has developed a partnership with “Frostburg Grows,” a project converting unused local mines into 5-acre greenhouse and shade house complex that is designed to train community members for high quality jobs while producing local food and tree seedlings.

“We have a successful relationship with Frostburg Grows and are grateful for the produce we receive in exchange for the compost provided by the dining services at FSU,” said Glenn.

“We have a successful relationship with Frostburg Grows and are grateful for the produce we receive in exchange for the compost provided by the dining services at FSU." - David Glenn, Director of Dining Services

The aforementioned composter is located outside of the Chesapeake Dining Hall and results in nearly no food waste. According to Alex George, a junior art major and student worker in the dining hall, student workers play a direct role in ensuring the sustainability of campus dining through composting.

“If students are either working in the dish room or if there is an excess amount of food left over at the end of the day, then we’ll compost it. We’ll put it down the shoot and grind it up and then we’ll throw it in the compost,” said George.

Dining hall student worker Alex George (left) and manager Jeff Maust (right) explain the duties of a student worker, as well as the function of the composter. 

Nearly all of the food made at Chesapeake that is left over, rotten, or otherwise unusable is transferred to the composter. The only food product that would be excluded in this process would be raw meat, states Maust.

Students like George benefit from the experience of working for Chartwells and Compass group, gaining real-life skills before pursuing a career.

“I think the advantage students have working in the cafeteria and for Chartwells is that they’re working for an international company,” Maust asserts. “That, on a resume, that’s looked at a little bit differently then if you worked in the Lane Center for FSU.”

“Working in the cafeteria and for Chartwells... on a resume, that’s looked at a little bit differently then if you worked in the Lane Center for FSU.” - Jeff Maust, Chartwells Manager

Chartwells currently employs ten student workers in the dining hall. Some work one to two days, while others work up to five days a week. George claims that both Chesapeake and the Appalachian Station are very lenient and flexible with student’s schedules and schoolwork. George, for instance, works four days a week and still finds time for assigned schoolwork while also appreciating the free evenings he’s given on the weekends.

The most significant obstacle Chartwells has experienced with student workers would be repeated call-offs. On average, there are anywhere from four to six call-offs in the evenings just at the Lane Center. Glenn points to this lack of consistency as an explanation of the unusually long lines frequenting the Appalachian Station this semester. Internal employee challenges are not new to Chartwells. Last year, there were problems with workers taking breaks at inconvenient hours, particularly during peak meal hours, leading to excessive lines. Since then, Glenn states, the problem has been resolved.

Another significant food service obstacle on campus last year dealt with the theft of items from the Lane Center. To combat what was believed to be widespread theft, Bev, the Appalachian Station manager, began supervising the Lane Center food court. In just one day, an estimated $4,000 in profit was recovered just from the additional supervision.

Conflict between student customers and food service employees is always a concern for companies like Chartwells. In October of this year, a viral video depicting a Connecticut college student violently confronting food service employees made the rounds on the internet. Thankfully, Glenn reports, such instances do not occur on the FSU campus and are something of a non-issue.

Dylan Alexander, undergraduate, (peacefully) purchases his dinner from Tracey, an employee in the Appalachian Station of LUC. 

On a positive note, Chartwells announced that future plans to complete the renovation of the dining hall will commence, albeit in a limited manner, in the near future. “Over the semester break, we’re going to do just a light remodeling with some painting and those types of things, but the actual date to complete the renovations has not been set yet,” said Maust.

Further facilities projects will begin with work on the LUC Chick-fil-A, to begin in about eighteen months. Glenn specified that these renovations will just be “very small, face-lifting renovations” and that Chick-fil-A will not shut down throughout the process. This “face-lift” will include new tile, a new fryer, a grab-and-go cooler for salads, and possibly the addition of Chick-fil-A brand iced tea and lemonade. The changes would make the LUC Chick-fil-A station more like a national franchise. It is unclear if these changes will alter the price of a meal at the FSU Chick-fil-A, which currently charges $0.30 more than identical meals at the Lavale Country Club Mall location, and nearly $0.70 more than meals at the Cumberland, MD location. 

“These things happen pretty fast,” Glenn commented of the renovations, “Chick-fil-A, for instance, will probably take a few weeks to complete.”

As students return to the Frostburg campus after a month full of holiday and home cooked meals, it will be important to continue providing feedback to Glenn and all of those who work for Chartwells on campus. For more information on campus dining and how students can provide feedback, visit http://www.dineoncampus.com/frostburg/.