Food Service Advisory Board
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
February 24, 2009
Members present: Jeff Davis, Ralph Giese, Greg Buchanan, Monika Reinholtz, Estivins Campos, Russell Saunkeah, Daniel Bowan
Members absent: Lucus DeKinder
Jeff Davis opened the meeting at 2:10 p.m. and welcomed everyone. 
Jeff reviewed the RFP bid process and how it was rewarded to Sodexo. Sodexo invested $750,000.00 in the campus projects: Lower Lodge Dining renovation, addition of the Jump Asian Food Court in the Overlook Café, paint and new tile for the Columbine Coffee Cart, and the addition of Dwire Coffee Cart. It was noted that Jazzman’s is still very busy, so the new espresso machine that was originally placed at DazBog in Dwire was moved to Jazzman’s. Within the Overlook Café, Freshens was removed and Jump Asian replaced it. The frozen yogurt machine was moved to The Pub, where soft serve frozen yogurt is now available. Russell Saunkeah, Sodexo General Manager, noted that the Island Oasis machine will also be moving to The Pub, which will make frozen fruit drinks. Jeff noted that Jamba Juice was originally to be placed next to Jazzman’s on the second floor of the University Center, but the contract could not be completed because of Indemnification between Sodexo and the architects. The Sodexo money allotted for this project will be used toward concession and kitchen areas in the upcoming Event Center. 
Jeff noted that recently the Housing Village implemented a ‘Celebrity Waiter’ night in the Lodge Dining. This program allows the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellors, Provost, Directors and Deans of campus to serve dinner to the students. All students are welcome to these events, they can either purchase dinner at the Lodge, use their meal plan, or munch money. The Spring 2009 event served 270+ students. 
Jeff noted that Sodexo has had a change in management. Janette Freyre, Retail Manager, relocated to Oklahoma with Sodexo, and that Stephen Parker has filled the position of Retail Manager after a search of applicants. Russell noted that Stephen is doing a good job as Retail Manager and campus should look forward to changes and new items in the Overlook Café. The Pick 5 Salad is back on the menu at Grill 155 in the Overlook Café and is very popular.
Jeff noted that the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day will be a celebration for the Recreation Center’s achievement of receiving Gold LEED Green certification on the building. The Pub will have green beer available for purchase and the Housing Village will have an Alcohol Awareness event sponsored by Department of Public Safety that will feature O’Doul’s non-alcoholic beer. 
Russell noted that during Fall 2008 the Overlook Café had a hot potato bar with fixings available, which was very popular. The Pub will be changing its look. Sodexo will be presenting concept drawings that will hopefully assist in making The Pub a destination on campus for both resident and commuter students. Sodexo is looking into providing full beer instead of 3.2 beer and a microbrew, such as Fat Tire, available at The Pub. 
Russell noted that the Event Center is expected to bring additional catering to campus. The Event Center will provide a venue for Proms and quality Sit-Down Dinners. He noted that Sodexo is excited that part of the renovation money is to be used for the Event Center concession area and kitchen. Stephen Parker is doing will as the new Retail Manager at the Overlook Café. Resident dining is going well and the Lodge staff have developed a great partnership with the RHA student representatives in meeting the students’ wants and needs. Russell noted that these types of partnerships will grow as the campus develops and grows, and Sodexo is ready to grow with it. 
Russell noted that University Hall students have again requested a coffee cart, but there is still thought and concept development that needs to be considered before commitment to this addition project. 
Ralph Giese, Operations Director, Housing Village, noted that RHA has been discussing ideas and suggestions for Residential Dining. Russell noted that the Lodge Chef has been meeting with these students and has a lot of experience with residential dining systems and welcomes RHA input and suggestions. 
Ralph noted that the Columbine Coffee Cart has improved greatly since last year. There is a daily selection of sandwiches, wraps and salads. Russell noted that Sodexo now has 2.5 employees dedicated to grab and go food preparation. This increase in preparation and availability of grab and go foods is a result of the request of students and their need for transportability and quick service. The Columbine Coffee Cart has new paint and tile which is reflective of the DazBog look at the Dwire Coffee Cart. 
Monika Reinholtz, SGA student representative, asked if there could be a rotation of stations open at the Overlook Café after 5:00 p.m. during the week. She noted that currently there is just the SubConnection open after 5:00 p.m. A discussion of food station choices and days of week ensued. Daniel suggested that the SubConnection remain a consistent open station and a rotation of the other three stations throughout the week. This suggestion and others will be looked into by Russell and suggestions brought to the next FSAB meeting. 
Greg Buchanan, SGA student representative, asked if the Pizza Hut Express venue in the Overlook Café will offer the pasta dishes that the national venues advertise. Russell noted that it has already been discussed with Pizza Hut, but the Pizza Hut Express is not being offered the pasta choices currently. Russell also noted that a noodle bowl selection is being suggested for the Jump Asian station, but menu issues have not yet been resolved. 
Greg asked when SGA rules allow only a $4.00 per person allowance for club events, why doesn’t Sodexo Catering offer a comparative pricing for club events and activities. Russell noted that Sodexo Catering tries to reduce the cost to student clubs as much as possible, and that Sodexo gave over $30,000.00 in food to student clubs last year. Jeff noted that SGA should look at comparative university standards for student club food reimbursements to determine if the $4.00 per person needs to be re-evaluated. 
Estivins Campos, SGA student representative, asked about the exclusivity clause with the Food Service Contract on campus and whether we will continue to provide both selections of Coke and Pepsi. Jeff noted that vending contract on campus has changed from Canteen Vending to A&R Services and that he will check whether there is an exclusivity in the contract. He will review this information at the next FSAB meeting. 
Daniel Bowan, Recreation Center Coordinator, asked if Sodexo is striving to provide locally grown produce when available and if a student preference for this could be included in the upcoming student food service survey. Russell noted that Shamrock is the largest food provider to Sodexo on campus and they are tasked with using as much local product as possible. He noted that winter vegetables are used a lot from Colorado because of the short growing season for warm weather vegetables, they are not used as much. Also, due to Sodexo corporate agreements and adherence to safe food handling requirements, some local growers are priced out and/or not being used. Russell noted that the Lodge is currently displaying banners stating the Colorado products being used by Sodexo. 
Monica asked about meal plans in Summit Village and asked if there could be additional plans to choose from. Ralph noted that currently there are four meal plans: 19 meals per week with $50.00 Flex Dollars, 15 meals per week with $100.00 Flex Dollars, 150 meals per semester with $175.00 Flex Dollars, and 125 meals per semester with $250.00 Flex Dollars. The Alpine Village has two meal plans: 50 meals per semester with $250.00 Flex Dollars and 25 meals per semester. In addition to these meal plans, commuter and resident students may choose to have Munch Money added to their ID cards. During the first two weeks of each semester, students may add Munch Money to their student account (through Ralph in Monarch House) or they may add money to their ID card at the University Center Information Desk or Sodexo Office in the Lodge with cash, check or charge anytime during the semester.
Monika asked if more advertising could go out about Munch Money, she noted that not enough students are aware of this option. It was suggested that an advertisement could be placed on the University Center Digital Signage screens and the SGA screen. 
The Food Service Advisory Board Meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.. Next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, 2009 in UC 307 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by Samantha Villarreal.