Last fall marked a change for SCSU as it switched food companies from Aramark to Sodexho.
Even though the companies changed, Sodexho maintains a variety of nutritious food for SCSU students.
It tries to meet every student's dietary need and offers nutritional pamphlets around Garvey to explain how important healthy food is.
It can make veggie burgers with a simple request, and provide soy milk as an option in the beverage section.
If a student has a special food need, they can talk to the Sodexho staff to work something out, so they will be able to eat at Garvey, too.
"We try to accommodate for different cultures and dietary needs, as well as offering food students want and not just need, like hamburgers and nachos," said Phil Paulson, resident dining manager at Garvey.
Sodexho uses a strict guideline the company created itself to obtain nutritional standards, so students are served food that has at least some element of nutrition in it.
Many places are switching to trans-fat free food, and SCSU does not want to be left out. The school is staying on top of what is considered ideal.
Sodexho does have a corporate level safety dietician that reviews all the menus for Garvey before it is served to students.
"Food safety is a main priority as well. The products are inspected in their packaging and made sure everything is fully cooked, so there won't be any health concerns later on when it's served," said Erin Gaynor, marketing specialist for Sodexho.
Sodexho does not serve its leftovers, but it also does not throw them away.
Instead, it recycles by setting up a system with a local farmer to give any leftovers to the farmer's livestock as feed.
Sodexho looks for ways to reach out and get responses from people about the food it offers.
It wants to let the campus community know how nutritious the food is by posting signs and posters around campus.
"We want to get feedback from people and what they would like to be served; we try to address all issues and concerns pertaining to food choice," Paulson said. "Everything we do in the food area is customizable."
Gaynor said, "At the sandwich area, there is a choice of white or wheat bread, and the students can choose how healthy or unhealthy they want to make their sandwich by the variety of toppings we have."
Sodexho's challenge is offering healthy food, but at the same time giving students what they want. Sodexho gives a wide variety of food choices to try to provide for every student and cultural need.
Sodexho offers Subway, WOW Cafe & Wingery, Pandinis, Ultimate Baja, Smart Market, Caribou Coffee kiosk and Cafe a la Cart.
The students are the company's customers, and Sodexho realizes that in order to keep customers coming, it needs to offer choices that are wanted.
If that means some foods are more carb heavy than others, then that is what it will be in order to keep the students satisfied.
To find out more information about Sodexho or its nutritional food value, visit www.balancemindbodysoul.com.
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