This week students, faculty and staff have been providing input through surveys for a food services review being conducted at the west coast campus of Memorial University.
Food Systems Consulting has been hired to lead the review. The process also includes meeting with various groups and representatives within the university next week, all to prepare information for a report of recommendations for the future of food services on campus.
“I do think we have good food services and great relationships with our tenants,” Robert Leamon said Friday. “I think this initiative is to more so have a broader, long-term vision for what exactly we need as the campus is growing.
“Food is one of those things that everyone talks about,” he added. “Everyone’s experience at a meeting was how good the food was.”
Meanwhile, Marie-Claude Renaud, conference marketing coordinator at Grenfell, said the review is particularly important right now because Grenfell is preparing for an extra 200 students to be living on campus when the new residence opens. The current cafeteria set up has also been in place since 1995.
“I think the appreciation of food has changed over the last 15 years, and this was just a good time for us to look at what we have on campus and try to improve and meet the needs of our population that is working and living here,” she said.
An internal steering committee was also established at Grenfell to deal with the issue.
Food Systems Consulting will submit recommendations for the future of food services by mid-March, according to Renaud.
“If everybody is happy with what we have, I guess we will stay where we are, but my feeling is that people are ready for a change,” she said.
The review is about more than just what is available to eat. It involves the entire experience, including things like location and atmosphere.
She acknowledged the student union has expressed an uneasiness with what this could mean.
“We are not saying what we have is no good, but we are trying to see how it can be improved,” she said.
Potential changes could include longer hours and summer operations, she said, and establishing kiosks around to help accommodate the expanding campus.
churley@thewesternstar.com
Twitter: WS_CoryHurley
