Sodex Yes: There is nothing wrong with dining on campus. Seriously.
Published February 19, 2008
By Max C. Bookman
Every Catamount knows that UVM loves to support the local community. Not only is it a Vermont thing to do, but as national chains cause rapid homogenization in cities across the country, going local has become the right thing to do.
In light of that ambitious local spirit, the school administration has given an effective monopoly on dining to a quaint little local food company with a cute, friendly, non-corporate name, Sodexho.
For those who doubt Sodexho’s local credentials, look no further than their website: “Sodexho is a leading integrated food and facilities management services company in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with $7.3 billion in annual revenue and 125,000 employees. Sodexho serves more than ten million customers daily in corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, government and remote sites.”
See! In this age where we consumers have accepted that impersonal corporate chain stores own a majority of the places where we shop, eat, and conduct business, it’s nice to know that when we swipe our cards, we’re one out of only ten million people eating Sodexho products on a given day.
Now that’s local! Okay, so maybe you’ll have to expand your definition of “local” to encompass all of North America, but that may not be such a bad thing.
For example, you’ve probably noticed the posters in dining halls around campus promoting Sodexho’s “TourUSA Road Trip,” an edible homage to the cultural diversity of the United States. The posters, donning far away regions such as New Orleans, are up year-round, suggesting that UVM dining halls are serving diverse cuisines from across America on a daily basis.
Well, The Water Tower couldn’t resist sampling some of these delicious options, so we swung by Simpson Dining Hall for dinner to check ‘em out ourselves. We were shocked by the variety of food available on just one random night.
On the menu: Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pizza, cold cut sandwiches, General Tzo’s chicken, and turkey with mashed potatoes. The food perfectly fit into Sodexho’s “Mind Body Soul” campaign, a program that emphasizes the importance of healthy eating and an active lifestyle.
But where was the gumbo and po’boys from New Orleans? Well, it turns out that the Road Trip rolls through UVM once a month. At one selected dining hall. For one day. Between 4:30 and 8:00. This way, Sodexho lets us anxiously wait all month long as our anticipation swells, wondering when and where the Road Trip will stop next.
Still, Sodexho is so committed to providing us with healthy food, the company was featured in the infamous Super Size Me, the Morgan Spurlock film that highlights the, well, enthusiastic eating habits of many Americans today. Spuuprlock visited a Sodexho school cafeteria that regularly served burgers, French fries, and soda,; the three key ingredients that he demonstrated were essential in keeping a healthy mind, body, and soul.
We only spent one evening at Simpson. We’re sure that the following day, Sodexho kept its promise “to serve a robust and flavorful selection of dining options,” by scrapping the burgers, pizza, and cold cuts for new, exciting, and original food options. After all, Sodexho knows that nobody wants to see hamburgers, pizza, and cold cuts every single night of the week.
We UVMers are so thrilled with Sodexho, the school administration has ruled out the possibility of any bothersome competition by providing the company with a monopoly on food service on campus. Moreover, according to Davis Center policy, “UVM funded” student organizations (which means every club on campus), may not bring “outside food into the building” unless the food is catered by Sodexho. Jen Nival, treasurer of Alianza Latina, is one club leader who has encountered red tape while attempting to obtain approval for hosting a Latino food event at our new student center. “The event is about people in the Latino community getting together and cooking,” she explains, “so if they catered completely, it would totally take over the aspect of being a cultural event.”
UVM isn’t the only school where students have grown upset by Sodexho. Students at American University have even staged a boycott of Sodexho services to protest its partnership with the United States Army. The company no longer serves AU.
If Sodexho admitted that they’re just a mediocre food service providing somewhat decent cafeteria food to college students, it would be unfair to criticize them. We would understand that it’s Simpson Dining, not the Olive Garden.
But they aim to be held to a higher standard. Sodexho wants to be a big part of your life, creating diverse, healthy, local North American dishes that support a healthy mind, body, and soul. Following our investigation, we’re pleased to report that Sodexho fully achieves that goal. Even with the bar set so high, we can’t think of anything bad to say.
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