In response to the health inspections performed by the Suffolk County Department of Health, Campus Dining has begun a series of corrections and precautionary measures. The Faculty Student Association (FSA), which oversees the operation of food places on campus, has issued a response to the critical health violations that more than half of the dining locations were reported to have.
On Nov. 1, Chartwells District Manager, Dennis Lestrange, met with Terry Marek, Registered Sanitarian and Chartwells Director of Quality Assurance, and Terrence O’Riordan, Senior Public Health Sanitarian from the Dept., to review and ensure the correction of all health violations.
While, the Student Activities Center (SAC) and Jasmine were inspected for violations in early Oct., some places, such as the Roth Food Court and the Student Union Deli, have not been inspected for over a year. According to Lisa Ospitale, the Marketing Director for Campus Dining Services, the Dept. ‘comes in randomly ‘hellip; purposely to see things in everyday action. Roth was done within a year. So, the dates on the website may not be the most accurate because the website’s not updated, maybe, by the Suffolk County Board of Health.’
In response to the fact that most of the violations are temperature-related, Ospitale said, ‘Any temperature issue is serious, whether it’s a degree or two degrees, we take it very seriously.’ Angela Agnello, the Director of Marketing and Communications at FSA, added, ‘If you go to the SAC at 10, 10:30, if you’re trying to switch over between the breakfast and the lunch, you’ll see [the staff] putting the ice in before they put the salad bar items in. That’s done every day.’
In addition to the random inspections by the Dept., Campus Dining does its own personal inspections. Ospitale said, ‘Chartwells is the food service company on campus. And Cafe Spice does Jasmine. Just like the Harriman Cafe, a graduate student organization runs it.’ Ospitale added, ‘The University Cafe is now run by Chartwells, but is overseen by the Graduate Student Organization.’
In response to the Dept.’s complaint about the inadequate space in the SAC, Agnello said, ‘At this time, our renovations are really focused on Roth Dining. But, once Roth is renovated and they have more food service available there, I think that should take some of the pressure off from the SAC because there will be a brand new eatery on campus where people can go.’
Campus Dining hopes to take some pressure off from the SAC by making the Union and Roth Cafeteria the new hubs for dining. The Bleacher Club and the End of the Bridge restaurant will be renovated by next fall. Roth renovation will start in the summer of 2007, and will continue for over a year, ready for unveiling by the fall of 2008. The Union will also have a Starbucks by that time.
Agnello said, ‘The gift certificates and the coupons, [make] people come [to the Union].’ These discounted offers, such as free fountain drinks with a purchase at places other than the SAC, are targeted to ease the congestion of student traffic at the SAC during the day.
In response to the possibility of a future SAC expansion, Ospitale said, ‘When it comes to renovations and expansions, it’s not a simple process. It’s not Campus Dining/Chartwells saying we’re going to pick this place because we’re a food service company on campus. Any renovation plans must come through the University. Because any renovations that occur stays on the University, where one day, [if] Chartwells is not here, and somebody else is here.’
Chartwells/Campus Dining has identified 24 core areas of safe food handling and sanitation in compliance with the Dept.’s health guidelines. They have also outlined 4 core objectives: reconfirming immediate corrective action for every violation, training of campus dining managers in mid-November, instituting long-term solutions, and reviewing repairs and equipment upgrades with FSA.
Campus Dining has also resolved a student-manager dispute that led to removal of copies of the Statesman issue featuring an article reporting the health violations.’ On Wednesday, Oct. 24, a student, Max Sequeira, confronted the SAC dining manager after he witnessed her removing stacks of the paper from the cafeteria and the main lobby.’
Ospitale added that ‘regardless of the manager’s intentions ‘hellip; Dennis Lestrange understands and so does the manager and everybody else that it was wrong. [The manager’s] staff and all of our staff have been spoken to about how to handle it in the future.’ Both the manager and the student have since spoken to each other, and have apologized to each other.
Ospitale said that ‘Campus Dining can always be improved and that is why we rely on feedback from our customers.’ A resolutions committee is currently in place to address food-related concerns and issues, and new menu items and concepts. The committee is composed of FSA management, campus administrators, Chartwells management, and Student Representatives.
Every food place has a manager on duty, usually accompanied by an assistant manager. They are responsible for daily inspections, and daily feedback. Students may approach them at any time. Student consumer advocates also serve as the liaison between customer comments and Dawn Villaci, the Customer Advocate Manager. Every dining location is also equipped with a comment card box for customer feedback.
