Food:
Sodexo, service and SMWC
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
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By Danya Long
Staff writer
Walking through the lunch line, nothing really looks appetizing to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College freshman Julie Cox. The main line to the left doesn't have anything she wants, and the exhibition bar to the right just doesn't sound good. She looks in front of her and spots pizza.
"Whenever nothing really looks good, I go for the pizza. At least I know it's somewhat safe," says Cox. She isn't the only one who uses this logic when it comes to choosing meals from Sodexo. Little do these students know that those two slices of pepperoni pizza they eat at lunch contain 1,320 calories. Recommended daily nutrition values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
A recent survey conducted by the Research Methods in the Social Sciences class showed that SMWC campus students are not happy with what Sodexo is serving. The survey - sent to all students in the campus program, a little more than 290 students -- inquired about such things as where students eat the majority of their meals and how often they are physically active.
A total of 56 surveys were turned in by campus students, and from these surveys the following information was compiled. Approximately 55 percent of students participating in the survey eat most of their meals on campus. Also from those who turned in surveys, for lunch, about 46 percent of the students eat at O'Shaughnessy and about 20 percent eat at Jazzman's, the new café located in Rooney Library. Almost 9 percent of students skip meals in O'Shaughnessy, and of the 56 people surveyed 32 of them said that quality was the main reason they don't eat there.
So you're probably asking yourself 'What do all of these numbers mean?' Basically, this information reveals that just over half of SMWC students who filled out the survey eat most of their meals on campus. It also means that the students believe there is a major problem with the quality of the food Sodexo serves. Self-selection is a likely factor, leading to those who dislike the food turning in surveys.
Part of the survey compared the weight gain in those that eat mainly off campus and those that eat mainly Sodexo food. About 50 percent of the students who mainly eat Sodexo food gained weight since they came to SMWC. Of students that eat mainly off campus, about 20 percent of them gained weight. The results of the survey only show a correlation, not a cause and effect.
Danielle Schiewer, SMWC senior, said the data from the survey is both complex and inclusive. "The results are not reflective of the entire student body," she said. Because of the time constraints of the class, the questions were not fully developed to get more conclusive results. Also, only 56 students replied and there was not a chance for second and third waves of the survey, which would require coding each student to track who still needed to reply.
Still, Schiewer said, "The results indicate that there is a connection between what students are eating from Sodexo and weight gain." However, "the data does not reveal if it is the food choices students are making, the foods that are being offered, or what students are doing outside of meals," Schiewer said. "Future studies might be more revealing," she concluded.
SMWC Professor of Biology Joyce Cadwallader expressed concern about the survey results. "I did go to the Social Sciences Research presentation during the Student Academic Achievement Day Activities and the research did seem to support the hypothesis that students who ate at the dining hall gained more weight than the students eating off campus," said Cadwallader in an email. "As a physiologist, I am concerned with weight gains since obesity is becoming an increasing issue in this country."
An interactive map on the Centers of Disease Control web site (www.cdc.gov) shows a 22-year progression of obesity rates in the United States. In the slide show, most states went from having less than 10 percent obesity in 1985 to the lowest rate being 18.7 percent in 2007. In 1985 the highest reported rate was 14 percent; however, no data was available then for 28 states, including the states with the highest rates in 2007, which were Tennessee (30.1 percent), Mississippi (32 percent) and Alabama (30.3 percent). Indiana's rate for 2007 was 26.8 percent, up from the 10-14 percent rate in 1985.
The cause of this spike in obesity rates: poor nutrition - such as fast food and processed food - and no exercise.
There have been positive steps taken at SMWC. "It's a lot better, but it's still not good enough," said junior Caitlin Smith, comparing Sodexo to previous years. As a result, Smith only eats Sodexo about 5 times a week. Sodexo serves 19 meals a week with breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday through Friday and brunch and dinner Saturday and Sunday.
Sophomore Danielle Sommers expressed her satisfaction with the new exhibition bar, but says "everything else has gone downhill."
The exhibition bar is a new addition this year in O'Shaughnessy dining hall. It offers one plate of food a meal, and those meals are put together right in front of your eyes. Some meals that have been served previously include chorizo eggchiladas, omelet bar, orange chicken and rice, and a variety of other options.
Junior Elizabeth Beyers, member of the Contract Renewal Committee that reviewed the bids for the food service contract last spring, said, "There has been a positive change…they started doing a lot more for us."
"Girls say [the food is] not healthy but so many only eat the pizza," said senior Samantha Dumm, also a member of the Contract Renewal Committee. This can be seen during meals, but one reason for this unhealthy choice may simply be that the pizza is the one thing students can always identify.
Russ Engelmann, general manager of Sodexo at SMWC, said, "Our difficulty here is getting the healthy choice that a) they recognize as a healthy option, b) is a healthy option that they want to eat, and c) getting them enough different ones. You can say salad bar all the time, but 10 meals a week just eating salad is not right."
While waiting for food in O'Shaughnessy, students can be heard asking the staff, "What is this?" The pizza is the one food that no student has to actually ask about, making them feel safer by choosing it.
So if Sodexo is so unhealthy for everyone, why did Sodexo's contract get renewed this last year? In an interview with Beyers and Dumm that question was answered. The price was a large factor in the decision to keep Sodexo as the food service provider at SMWC. According to Beyers and Dumm, the other 3 companies that were being considered would have caused a price increase. The contract with Sodexo did have some changes though. Jazzman's was added last summer and debuted this fall. The Balanced Way meals and Fair Trade coffee have also been added this school year.
One thing that sealed the deal for Sodexo to win the contract with SMWC was its heart-healthy options with its Balanced Way menu. It was a step in the right direction, leading to healthier options on the salad bar such as beans and veggies, as well as the exhibition bar. Yet, the meals at Jazzman's are more like a step backward, with some wraps having 49 grams of fat (14 saturated).
On Sodexo's Balanced Way web site, www.thebalancedway.com, the guidelines state feature meals should contain less than or equal to 600 calories, less than or equal to 30 percent calories from fat, at least 3 grams of fiber and less than or equal to 800 milligrams of sodium.
The wrap mentioned above, the chicken Caesar wrap (which was one of Jazzman's best sellers at first), measured up like this: 880 calories, 50 percent calories from fat, 3 grams of fiber, and 2,490 milligrams of sodium.
Where's all the fat from? The chicken has a little, the wrap has a little, the cheese has a little, the lettuce has none. That leaves the dressing. And using too much dressing is a common occurrence not only with the wraps at Jazzman's - some students dip the already dressed wrap into more dressing - but at the dining hall salad bar as well.
The chicken Caesar wrap is a "spec menu item" that cannot be changed easily, said Engelmann. Maybe it doesn't need to be since that wrap hasn't been offered lately. But the dressing is. As for the food at O'Shaughnessy, there is a method to choosing the food served. "Sodexo gives a four-week regional menu cycle with the option that each college has the opportunity to make changes," said Engelmann. "When you say you want chicken nuggets once a week, it's something we can do. But then you get into comment cards of lack of variety."
Students say counting their calories at the dining hall is not an easy task. Weight management is as easy as calories in, calories out, study after study shows. There are signs with descriptions of entrees and items and nutritional information. But sometimes, the sign doesn't match what is offered or is figured for the entire plate instead of one item or mixing and matching.
Sodexo's contract through 2013 with SMWC calls for a food committee to meet monthly with Sodexo employees. The committee did not meet during the 2008-2009 academic year. When asked why, Engleman said it was partly his fault and partly the fault of the College. Jeff Malloy, director of campus life, is putting together a committee of students that will meet with Sodexo in the fall of 2009.
Students always complain about food. When a group of SMWC students visited Dominican University in California in March, one student was shocked to hear Dominican students complain about the food. It was, in the SMWC student's opinion, better than what she has back at SMWC. Still, complaints about the quality of food have surfaced during town hall meetings and student dinners with SMWC President David Behrs.
Part of Sodexo's contract is working with students who have special dietary needs. Junior Mary Bungum has some special dietary needs that are not being met. She was diagnosed with celiac sprue, a gluten intolerance that doesn't allow her to eat wheat, oats, barley, and rye. "You'd be surprised how many foods actually contain those ingredients," she said. Bungum believes that the "menu isn't dietary needs friendly," and because of this she only eats Sodexo food a maximum of 8 times per week. According to the contract that Sodexo signed with the school valid from July 2008 until July 2013, "Sodexo shall supply any medically required special diets for resident dining patrons when prescribed and approved in writing by a medical doctor and the College." Bungum revealed that Sodexo does work with her "to a limited extent," but they don't really make anything besides dessert and breakfast.
It is normal for people to complain, especially about the food they are eating. However, there comes a certain time when it stops being routine complaining and a real problem is raised. Faculty and staff members have noticed the types of food served by Sodexo. "I think the food choices are too many," said Cadwallader, "I think in an attempt to give students choices, there are too many and some are not healthy ones."
Another part of Sodexo's contract includes serving a snack for students Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m. This can be a great option for students who are staying up studying, but the types of food can be a problem. Some of the options that are served at snack include pizza sticks, fruit and cheese, soft pretzels, and buffalo wings. Not only is it not entirely healthy to eat later at night, but eating foods such as pizza sticks and buffalo wings is even worse.
Elaine Yaw, who teaches the general fitness class, tells her students there is a line between good and bad food choices, good on top, bad on bottom. Spend more time above the line, she says, and you'll see changes.
Those late night Taco Bell runs aren't healthy, but that may not be the only unhealthy food they are eating. Students need to try to "spend more time above the line" in order to maintain a healthier lifestyle. If Sodexo offered healthier choices and more students were aware of how to eat healthy, SMWC would most likely be healthier in general.
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