The Undergraduate Student Government Association and Sodexo have recently made a deal to distribute to-go containers free-of-charge during breakfast and dinner at the Marketplace.
containers provided by Sodexo
(Photo by Elissa Sanci/Charger Bulletin Photo)
The trial period is currently underway, running from March 23 to April 4.
Instead of charging for your food a-la Carte, the cashiers will retain your receipt and count it as a swipe. The to-go concept is intended for students with difficult schedules during meal hours.
Richard Rotella, senior and president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association and Dawn Noble, manager of the Marketplace, have met up and have emailed back and forth since the middle of the fall semester discussing ideas.
A student first brought up the idea of free to-go containers to Rotella, and after he proposed this at a USGA meeting, the students felt passionate about the concept.
Sodexo was open to the proposal, except for the concern of students possibly attempting to commit food theft in order to feed those without a meal plan or have already eaten. A trial run for two weeks was the best route to observe whether this service will be successful.
So far, there have been no major issues. More students have taken the initiative since the beginning of the trial to utilize the container. Generally, dinner is the most busy and most likely for students to use the to-go containers.
“Sometimes the students don’t have a lot of time on their hands; they need to eat,” Noble said.
Since more containers are being distributed, it would initially cost more to keep stocking them. A case of 200 containers comes to 60 dollars, with each container 0.30 cents apiece.
In both the past and the present, Sodexo and USGA work very well together and both welcome feedback from the students.
Overall, Rotella said, “I am really happy that we got to make the student experience better for the time being.”
No future plans with Sodexo and USGA are in the works, but both are eager to hear feedback from the students about the current and upcoming eating options on campus.
Noble and Rotella plan to meet after Easter weekend to discuss how the trial weeks have gone and whether to continue the new policy.
