UH’s plans to overhaul its dining services will go before the Board of Regents on August 11.
The University’s Division of Administration and Finance Food Service Advisory Committee met with Aramark representatives Friday to incorporate plans to increase sustainability into the overview of the overhaul.
‘We have been working hard to try to address some of the issues we have with dining services over the last couple of years, and I think we have now taken the steps toward the right direction,’ said Sam Dike, a political science senior serving on the committee.
UH and Aramark have developed a sustainability program, which includes use of the produce garden in Lynn Eusan Park, the institution of eco-friendly to-go boxes, healthier dietary options and a Dining Services Departmental commitment to biodegradable materials.
The committee’s program also promotes use of Starbucks coffee mugs so students, faculty and staff can reuse their mugs to reduce waste and get a discount on coffee.
The committee also plans to improve meals at campus athletic events by offering value meals and possibly having contests between University chefs and the visiting team’s chefs.
‘I am really excited about the improvements in dining and look forward to seeing continued improvements. (Dining Services is) doing a great job, everyone working together, one Cougar nation,’ said communication senior Jonas Chin, who serves on the committee.
The committee and Aramark overviewed the plans for its proposed initiates, which outline renovations for the Moody Towers and Oberholtzer Hall cafeterias.
The proposal also includes structural changes to Aramark’s contract including a plan to re-negotiate a program aimed at expanding Cougar Cash, as well as establishing a deferred-maintenance-equipment fund to maintain the future renovations of the dining services at Moody Towers and Oberholtzer Hall.
All dining facilities will accept Cougar Cash starting in the fall of 2009. These campus eateries include McAllister’s Deli, Tealicious, Chinese Star and Shasta’s Cones and more.
Negotiations for the specific renovations of the Aramark contract are still in discussion and the committee will meet again in May. A specific date is has not been set.
Assistant Vice President for University Services Emily Messa said the importance of establishing a deferred-maintenance fund for the renovated buildings is an important aspect of the contract.
‘Once you make an investment in a facility, you want to be able to maintain it and continue to provide quality to the students,’ Messa said.
Renovations to the Moody Towers dinning hall will begin next year during the summer, and renovations for Oberholtzer are expected to start the following summer.
The estimated cost for the Moody Tower renovations is about $10 million, and the University will put the project up for bid to contractors.
The projected cost for the Oberholtzer renovations is not yet known.
‘The renovations at Moody and Oberholtzer will not just be a building renovations, it is the actual dining concepts that will be completely overhauled,’ Dike said. ‘It will be catered to the different types of students we have on campus and make sure we are meeting their dietary needs.’
For more information about campus dining services, visit http://www.campusdish.com or http://www.uh.edu/af/recyclemania.
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