Tag: java 101

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Soedexo Monopoly Keeps 5-Bites from KPAC

Student operated concession stand, 5-Bites, was edged out by  a Sodexo-catered concession stand built into the Kerr-Pegulla Field House (KPFH) under the cooperation’s direction.

In addition to the main dining hall, Sandella’s, Big Al’s, and the coffee house added last summer to replace Java 101, Sodexo now holds a monopoly over every food stop on campus.

Previously, concessions for athletic events were provided by 5-Bites, a student operated business that manages small snack oriented concession stands in the dorms and at the fields. Bradley Oliver, president of Houghton Student Enterprises (HSE), said “It has always been our goal to have businesses that are run by students, for students by listening to what they want, and delivering.”

SodexoMonopolyOptions typically found at the 5-Bites stands included chips, pretzels, candy, and bottled beverages available for purchase with cash only. One reason for the transition from 5-Bites to Sodexo, General Manager of Houghton Dining Services, Tina Powers explained, was  “the college wanted the ability to serve full hot meals as concessions from the new facility,” not just packaged snacks.

The KPFH has a full sized kitchen located on the north-west corner of the building specifically designed to meet Sodexo’s culinary needs. Catering Manager, James Ward said,  “There are a variety of health codes that have to be upheld when serving hot food. Maintaining food during the course of service and keeping it at a certain temperature requires a certain facility and the work of the certified dining staff.”

“Since the project’s inception it became clear that 5-Bites could not handle all of what the college expected from their new facility,” said Oliver. “Meetings between Skip Lord [executive director of athletics], Robert Pool [vice president of student life], Sodexo, and 5-Bites to discuss how to keep HSE involved in running the new facility ultimately determined that Sodexo would be running the facility without our collaboration.”  Oliver also mentioned that this result would cut HSE’s total profits by 50 percent.

Sodexo provided concessions at preliminary sporting events hosted by the KPFH this summer, but last weekend’s homecoming marked the official kick-off of its newest dining option. A variety of hot concessions were available throughout the day and were available for purchase with cash, credit, or flex dollars.

“We want to partner with the campus to ensure that there will always be a good meal there,” said Powers. “We want to show great hospitality to those who come here.”

Sophomore, Elizabeth Houseman, said, “I think they should make it a little more simple, I mean they had beef on weck ,yet no hamburgers.” “Another Sodexo take-over means even less options—there is so little variety to their  food already,” said Graduate student Sean Douglas.

Sodexo’s service at the KPFH continued late into homecoming evening providing concessions for the 2,500 guests attending the Tenth Avenue North Concert. “There was always a giant line to buy anything, but the popcorn was delicious.” said Junior, Leah Shadbol.

Sodexo’s concession services in the KPFH will be open for all of Highlander Athletics’ Home matches this weekend.

“We do not like the monopoly power that Sodexo has on the campus, but as a creative group we will come up with new ways to serve the student body.” ” Oliver said on behalf of 5-Bites and HSE.

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Update on Student Government Activities

Recently, Houghton’s student Senate has been focusing on issues smaller and less apparent than in semesters past, but the work they have been doing and the conversations in their Tuesday night meetings are still relevant, and, arguably, increasingly more so, to the entire campus.

1452019_10152015908004173_341939960_nPresident Benjamin Hardy said one of “the most important things the SGA has done this semester [is] helping to distribute information about the recent budget cuts via word-of-mouth communication by senators and cabinet members to their peers.” This is one of the essential functions of the Senate: to distribute information on a personal basis, and increasing the amount of actual face time between students serving as senators and their peers was one of the goals of the restructuring of the Senate, which happened last semester.

Since, nothing quite so large or cumbersome has taken place, but Senate had been engaging in conversations about SPOT, the potential dropping of the Islamic Studies program, and, as stated above, the budget cuts that the college has been both contemplating and enforcing. These issues have come up during the open floor portion of Senate meetings, which is a time when any student may bring a concern or question to the SGA.

Though the student Senate cannot make the direct decision to, for example, keep Islamic Studies as a program, the members can engage in conversations with concerned students and then take those concerns into committee meetings.

President Hardy stressed the roles of students on committees. He said “[Senate has been] electing students to college councils and committees which service the present needs of students and help speak into the changes that are happening in meaningful ways. I think that a lot of students, even, sometimes, the students on committee, don’t realize how important this function is. Organizations are run part by committees and part by administrators and many of those administrators are closely advised or informed by committees.” Essentially, any student from the general population at Houghton can be a part of a committee, and they range from dealing with Houghton’s care for the environment to working with administrators in Student Life on concerns voiced by students.

Miriam Harms, a senior senator, feels that her involvement with Senate has made her better informed about the conversations and changes happening on campus. She participates on the Creation Care and Academic Council committees, and also thinks that Senate’s talks with President Mullen are educational and helpful. The President visits Senate once a month, and Harms said “You can really ask her anything you want. She explains what the college is doing, and we can even give her questions beforehand from students and senators so that she can prepare information for us.”

In the coming semester, SGA will be working with the Student Programs Office to streamline the event proposal process and forms for students. President Hardy explained the intended benefits of SGA’s work in this area. He said, “This will enable [students] to have a ‘one-stop-shop’ experience when coordinating their event, as the [potential new form] will be designed to forward relevant information to, for example, the person who coordinates the Houghton fleet, persons who manage room reservations in the intended building, or the custodians to be aware of chair or table needs.”

Other plans of the SGA include creating some sort of central, physical calendar, which should cut back on the amount of emails, posters, and slips in CPO boxes as advertising for events.

In addition to helping better organize, advertise, and support events, SGA has been working to negotiate a deal with Sodexo for a discounted price on coffee for student-run events. Java 101 and SGA had an agreement which allowed for student organizations to have coffee at events for a good price, and Sodexo has been convinced to work with students in this way.

Vice President Andiana Sidell said, “The accomplishments of Senate have been more laidback in terms of importance, but are working towards a more unified and complete support of what programs we do run … See You at the Pole and Operation Christmas Child were a hit this semester and Blood Drives continue to be something that students and Senate alike puts time into.”

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Report: Sodexo’s Contract with Houghton College

In 2010, Houghton College entered into a contract with Sodexo, naming them manager and operator of the college’s food services. Since then, Sodexo stands as a prominent part of the college, gradually gaining more responsibilities, such as janitorial services and, most recently, the operation of former Java 101.

Courtesy of sodexoeducation.com
Courtesy of sodexoeducation.com

Currently Sodexo and Houghton maintain two contracts, referred to separately as Food Services and Facilities. The Food Services contract began on June 1, 2010 and spans a seven-year period following that date. This contract covers an agreed-upon group of Houghton services involving food, comprised of the cafeteria, Big Al’s, Sandella’s, and the newly-added coffee shop.

 Contrary to common belief, Houghton College still maintains ownership over each of these campus features, including the coffee shop. Tina Powers, Sodexo General Manager, said, “We are contracted to run any retail that [Houghton has] requested us to run; we manage it for them. There’s no ownership at all on our part.” She explained that the coffee shop was an important aspect of student life, and Sodexo and Houghton found it necessary to work together to sustain it.

 This owner-manager relationship also applies to the second contract, Facilities, which covers the janitorial, maintenance, and grounds component of Houghton’s services. This contract began later than the Food Services contract.

 Both the Food Services and Facilities contracts cover specific details concerning the college’s expectations for Sodexo, the service provider. For example, Robert Pool, Vice President for Student Life, said, the Food Services contract “specifies what the college owns, versus what Sodexo owns.”

“In general,” Pool said, “we own all physical property… all the permanent equipment (sinks, refrigerators, ovens), but bowls, utensils, inventory for all food, and food supplies – that’s purchased and operated by Sodexo.”

 Along with these matters, the contracts also stipulate what Sodexo’s duties are within the specific services. The Food Services contract provides a definition of its services, reading, “Food Services shall include the following: Resident dining programs, retail sales, catering.” Such instructions dictated by the contracts aid in clarification and direct decisions such as how much Sodexo can charge per meal, how they maintain hours of operations, and what aspects of the college’s food services are managed by Sodexo.

Houghton and Sodexo work together to make changes, whether changing a part of the contract or simply rearranging the layout of the cafeteria. Pool described a recent layout change, saying, “Sodexo came to the college saying here’s what we would like to do… and we then give some feedback.”

 Amendments are also made to the contracts each year to adjust, improve, or remove parts of the original documents. The college holds “expectation meetings” in which representatives from both Houghton and Sodexo discuss such adjustments in addition to the college’s expectations for the service provider.

 Powers summarized one recent expectations meeting, saying the meeting’s focus was “just making sure that we’re meeting expectations, and what [Houghton’s] expectations are for the next six months or for the next year… right now they’re focused on us making sure that students have what they need.”

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Sodexo Opens New Coffee Shop; Java 101 Closes

One of several changes actualized on campus over the summer involved a change in ownership of Houghton’s frequented coffeehouse Java 101, passing into the hands of Sodexo, Houghton’s current food service contractor. Greg Bish, the head of the student programs office and the previous owner of Java 101, explained the reasons behind the transfer. “I was looking into options for a transition with Java, and in the end I just decided to close Java.”  Among his reasons for the closure were his pursuit of a Ph.D. in Higher Education that would take away much of his time to run the business. “Last year I started a doctoral program that is a distance program, so I’m still here but taking classes,” explained Bish. However, this program also required him to attend two weeks of intense classes in California twice a year. Time spent outside of these classes had been balanced between his other work with the doctoral program, his duties as head of student programs, and, of course, running Java. To help with this, Bish hired Sharon Mulligan last year as manager to assist with the day-to-day tasks of running of Java 101.

Java_CMYKHowever, according to Bish, Mulligan had been hired at the Center of Academic Success and Advising (CASA) with Houghton this summer and he was “looking at what [his] options were with the coffee shop” as she left her job at Java 101. In the end, he decided to close the business.

Said Dr. Robert Pool, Vice President for Student Life, “In early July, Greg announced to me and to our business reps that he was interested in selling Java 101,” having been asked, “‘Would the college be interested?’” Pool approached Tina Powers, the General Manager of Sodexo on campus, during the first week of August to see if Sodexo was interested in buying the coffee shop from Greg.  After talking with the their regional cooperate office, “Sodexo came back mid-August and said they were not interested in buying.  We met with Greg and explained that right now [neither] the college nor Sodexo were buyers.  He had the option of continuing on this year operating Java 101, but we didn’t have a buyer,” Pool explained.  Bish stated that even though there still remained a year on his lease, he felt the need to move forward and allow the college to decide what to do with the space.

“[During] the first week of preseason, the college approached us…. We had some internal conversations and then approached the college and said we’d be interested, and we went on from there,” explained James Ward, Sodexo Catering Manager.  Ward said, “On the Wednesday of the first week of preseason we came to an agreement with the college that yes, we would open it up, and they gave us a go-ahead.”

Initial challenges for Sodexo included deciding on a product menu, working out the process of getting products to Houghton, and the logistics of staff and equipment. An agreement was reached that Wednesday, with ownership of the space being transferred the following Monday and the shop finally opening the next day with a limited menu for business.  “Currently we are waiting on our POS register which will allow the students to use their flex dollars, Big Al Bucks, credit cards, allow[ing] us to tie right back to the meal plan database.  The major piece of the puzzle is the espresso machine,” explained Ward.  The register was expected to arrive this week and the espresso machine in the weeks to come.

In this transition Sodexo had already fully staffed the coffee shop with around 75 student work hours available.  They will be “Proudly brewing” Starbucks’ full menu of teas, coffees, frappuccinos, cappuccinos, espresso, lattés, and mochas.  They also expected that to be serving Starbucks’ seasonal and specialty drinks, as well as providing Sodexo’s fresh-baked goods and the same FANS smoothies offered at Big Al’s.  Coffeehouse performances will continue as before.  The new hours for the coffee shop are; Monday through Thursday 7:30 am – 11 pm, Friday 7:30 am – 12:30 am, Saturday 9 am – 12:30 am Sunday 9 am – 11 pm.  A naming contest will be held in the near future to give the coffee shop an official name.