Major changes have taken place in the Dining Hall since last semester. Besides the new choices of food, nutritional information is now available and displayed for some of the meals. Although not always the most reliable source of information, the app “CampusDish” allows students to see what will be offered that day in the DH, along with estimations of nutritional content. If you look closely, sometimes the dietary information is provided on little cards above the food item itself. A colorful new display by the Lakeside entrance offers a large nutritional spreadsheet and colorful handouts on healthy living. When first implemented, I was thoroughly impressed with the changes I saw. However, after a few months of observing this new plan in action, I’m starting to question the validity of the information we are receiving.
The CampusDish app is only accurate about half of the time. Whole meals are either being incorrectly uploaded to the database for each day or Dining Services is changing their offerings at the last minute. I understand the need to improvise when something goes awry, but I’ve noticed this happening consistently over the course of the semester. While it is not crucial to have virtual access to every detail concerning my upcoming meal, it is nice to know what will be offered before I spend a valuable meal to swipe into the Dining Hall.
When I first heard about the upfront and transparent nutrition information being displayed for food items, I was elated. I started noticing data cards above certain food stations. However, this is not the case at every station, every day. It seems as though Dining Services picks and chooses which foods and dishes should have their nutritional information “revealed” to us, the consumers. Also, ingredients lists are not offered on the app, the Aramark website, or the information cards provided at the stations. I realize that providing a list of included ingredients for the more complicated recipes would be impractical, but for those of us with allergies or certain intolerances, it would be nice to know what a meal contains without having to ask an employee.
In light of my developing opinions about the new Dining Service programs, I wanted to get the facts. Why implement these changes now? What exactly has changed? How accurate is the nutritional information provided to students? Did the employees have to learn new techniques in order to adapt to these changes? I addressed all of these questions to Jeff Valentine, manager of the Dining Hall. I was disheartened to find out that I had to wait for Aramark’s corporate headquarters to approve my questions before any could be answered. I hesitantly agreed to delay this article until I received that information. After six weeks of waiting with no further communication, I emailed Mr. Valentine about my concerns. After another unanswered email attempting to set up an appointment, I threw in the towel.
My original positive outlook on the changes in Dining Hall services had been soured by my experiences trying to navigate Aramark’s complex bureaucratic channels in search of basic information, specifically the requirement of approval from the clandestine corporate offices from which our food is controlled and managed. While I still support Furman Food Services and the move toward providing nutritional information for the food served in our Dining Hall, I am concerned about where the power lies. Where does our food really come from? What are we allowed to know and not know? Why do my questions have to be sent to someone hundreds of miles away when I’m simply trying to inquire about simple changes here at Furman? I guess I’ll never get the chance to know.