sandella’s – Houghton STAR

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.”

Options 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.

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.

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.”