Dwayne Todd talks about the issue of quality on campus, as well as the continuing search for variety
Ohio Wesleyan's quest for quality
By Aleksei Pavloff
With students consistently saying that food is sub par, Ohio Wesleyan University has called a change to the current food system.
Creation of a new meal plan with a new food provider couldn't have been possible without Dwayne Todd, Vice President of Student Engagement and Success. With the new meal plan set to take place, he hopes to ensure that students will never miss a meal and have a better overall dining experience.
Chartwell's is the current food provider for OWU’s campus and has been for close to 30 years. With assistance from the Wesleyan Council of Student Affairs (WCSA), Todd and other administrators sent out surveys to the student body and ran focus groups in the last two years to see if students liked the food being served on campus. These student satisfaction surveys are sent out every year, Todd says. One question let students rate the food service.
Review of the dining service included talking to students and the WCSA.
Some students require a special diet due to allergies and religious reasons. Todd also says students often think the food, specifically the produce, didn’t taste fresh.
Athletes had their own complaints. Some said places like Smith Dining Hall and the Marketplace in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center weren’t open late enough or long enough for them to get food after practice, says Max Aaronson , the Student Life Committee Chair on WCSA.
During OWU’s spring semester in 2018, Todd and other administrators narrowed down the list of possible new food providers. The top three were AVI Foodsystems, Aramark, and current food provider Chartwells.
One change to the new meal plan is the introduction of a “swipe” system instead of a “declining balance.”
Currently, campus food points work as a debit card. Students have the freedom to spend points on food and other amenities, as they desire. However, some students find themselves out of meal points before the semester ends. The new meal plan's "swipe system" will allow for students to not worry about a food point balance. Instead, they can use as many swipes to get the quantity of food they please.