New flavours in campus food offerings

Dalhousie students, faculty and staff can expect food options on campus to expand starting this fall.

“We have a lot of projects on the go,” says Heather Sutherland, assistant vice-president, Ancillary Services, the department responsible for managing food offerings and services on campus. “We’ve been listening to the suggestions and ideas from the Dal community, and we’re really excited to take our campus offerings to the next level.”

New offerings

The first batch of these changes are already underway in the Killam atrium. Construction is happening on the site of the old atrium fountain, which hasn’t been used in recent years. In its place: a Subway restaurant.

“We’ve been trying to bring Subway to campus for a long time, so it’s great to be able to make that happen,” says Derrick Hines, director of Food Services at Dalhousie, who adds that the sandwich chain has come up often when talking with students about what offerings they want to see brought to campus.

Also in the Killam, the Second Cup will be refurbished and the Bistro will see a number of improvements, including a new sandwich line, a second cash point and a new high-speed oven. Mr. Hines says that while this will mean more food activity in the atrium, the vibe and feel of the space will remain multipurpose. “We see this as a real campus gathering space, one that lives and breathes.”

At Sexton campus, meanwhile, there will be renovations and modifications to the alumni lounge, adding new express dining options featuring sandwiches and paninis, as well as a Tim Hortons location. “That’s another option that folks at Sexton have been asking for,” says Mr. Hines.

And he hints at other changes to come – ones specifically aimed at providing more diversity in the food offerings on campus.

A new agreement

Ms. Sutherland explains that these offerings follow Dalhousie's review and renewal of its food service contract with provider ARAMARK. Last summer, with the previous agreement set to expire, the university began a competitive review process, led by a committee consisting of representatives from the student body, student services, financial services, purchasing and ancillary services. The committee was also assisted by an external consultant.

Upon reviewing the submitted proposals, ARAMARK’s bid was unanimously supported by the review committee, as well as the operations committee of the Board of Governors. The bid was considered to be the strongest in sustainability, depth of personnel, its considerations of diversity and dietary demands, community and campus philanthropy, and financial investment and return.

The Board approved the contract at its June meeting. The agreement is for five years with an option to renew for a further five beyond that.

Focusing on sustainable and local

Ms. Sutherland and Mr. Hines say they're excited to be able to expand the work of Food Services and bring more opportunities to campus. In particular, they highlight the growth in local food and sustainability initiatives. The “Farm to Table” program has expanded the percentage of locally-sourced food to 54 per cent, and Food Services was awarded an “A” grade in the “Food and Recycling” category in the latest College Sustainability Report Card.

“We’re just concluding a study with the Office of Sustainability on the energy efficiency of our kitchens,” says Mr Hines, of their most recent project. “That sort of work is extremely important – our customers want food that is both local and sustainably-produced, and we're working to provide that to them.”