A non-scientific poll of 100 students conducted by The Daily Cougar found that 52 percent of students said they were not satisfied with food choices on campus.
"The biggest problem is the lack of variety," business junior Erin Ammerman said. "There are way too few options."
Of the 48 students who said they were satisfied with food variety, chemistry junior Richard Lu said he would not change much.
The University provides students with an ample variety of food choices on campus, Director of Business Services Esmeralda Valdez said.
In October, the Student Government Association Senate called on Aramark to diversify its food choices to include products not containing pork, blood or shellfish for students following religious practices. The convenience stores on campus currently offer microwaveable Halal and kosher products from My Own Meal.
"They need to cater to a wider audience," accounting senior Stanley Thomas said. "There is a large Indian population here, and there are not enough vegetarian options for them. Employees make it difficult to order things that work for us. It’s like we are putting them out when we want to special order something because we don’t eat meat."
Other students said they want the food establishments at the University Center and the UC Satellite to be open for longer periods of time to coincide with their schedules.
"Opening up the Satellite a little bit longer, that would probably be a little bit better," finance junior Rich Norwood said.
Economics graduate student Sunando Basu said UH should take it one step further and have a cafeteria open all night.
Construction management junior George Conces said that besides Chili’s Too and Eric’s in the UH Hilton, all other establishments offer fast food. The University should also break away from single-contracts such as that with Coca Cola and open up competition between other companies, he said.
"That bothers me that one company has control over everything," Conces said.
Food-service contracts
The University contracted Aramark from 1995 to 2000 and used Chartwells from 2000 to 2005. A five-year contract with Aramark was negotiated in 2005 after a bidding process, at the recommendation of the Food Service Selection Committee, composed of students, faculty and staff, Valdez said. Student representatives were chosen from the Student Government Association Senate, the UC Policy Board and the Residential Housing Association.
Student response is gathered from formal surveys, focus groups and feedback from the SGA Senate, RHA and UC Policy Board to the Food Service Advisory Committee every semester.
Once a food-service provider is chosen, the FSSC then makes a recommendation to the vice president of Administration and Finance. The Office of General Counsel, which deals with legal proceedings, then drafts a contract for approval by the UH president, Valdez said.
Customer satisfaction
Students also said Aramark needs to keep up quality by providing satisfactory customer service.
Industrial engineering graduate student Siddharth Unnikrishnan said that despite being satisfied with Aramark, sanitation and customer service should be the main focus.
"Cleanliness is a must," he said. "The employees are kind of rude sometimes."
Valdez said that measures are in place to deal with food safety.
"Business Services has enforced a new process to monitor and enhance the food quality and sanitation control at all food establishments," Valdez said.
Kinesiology senior Violet Ehiem said while she was satisfied with the service Aramark provides, she suggested some changes.
"(The) only thing that I would suggest is to keep the food hot or warm more consistently. Also, maybe to have fresher fruits and vegetables," she said. "Protecting the food is an issue that I have. When I try to reach for some brownies or cookies, I see gnats flying off them."
Additional reporting by Daily Cougar News staff
