A boycott is ensuing at Northeastern Illinois University against Sodexho after the $6.7 billion corporation decided to increase food prices for NEIU this school year. Sodexho is also the new food provider here at UIC campus.
The impending price increases were made public by permission of the Student Government Association senator Steven Jerome. The SGA at NEIU, in a message sent Sept. 16, stated they are continuing an investigation of the Sodexho food service provider on campus.
It was at the SGA meeting that representatives from Sodexho food services came to brief the students on plans to raise the meal costs.
Sodexho presented the costs of their products as competitive with other large food providers and further justified the price increases by the inflationary effects of a devalued U.S. dollar currency.
NEIU has an exclusive contract with Sodexho, so compromise and consensus will take time. The planned strike however, indicates how willing the student body is to be involved in the process and fight for themselves.
The SGA is at the head of the movement to avert the proposed increases. Jerome believes, "this exclusive contract is both inefficient and a violation of the economic freedom of our students. This is a university whose low tuition helps thousands of students who could not otherwise afford to attend college to pursue their degree. We need to consider the effects of price increases for these students. I would like to work with the administration to further investigate the matter."
Director of Campus Housing Anthony Martin provided a plethora of information on UIC's relationship with Sodexho.
"The contract with Sodexho runs for three years with two one-year extensions possible," said Martin.
The new meals provided by Sodexho have been noted as much better from previous years.
Martin said, "I was pleased that Sodexho was willing to provide resident students with a basic five-day meal plan as well as?an all-you-can-eat from 7:30 a.m. until midnight at the same price that last year's?basic Meal Plan #1 was scheduled to be."
In response to the success of James Stukel Towers Hall Council's Sept. 18 meeting with Sodexho supervisor speaker Chris, Martin had this to say:
"I think it will be a good measure of Sodexho's success if the majority of freshmen are pleased with the dining services and feel that Sodexho is interested in their comments and suggestions.?I know there are some residents with issues about variety and some returning residents who are unhappy that our current meal plans don't include flex dollars as was the case in previous meal plans, but I'm convinced that the vast majority of students are very well served by our current program. And?I believe that Sodexho is offering the quality, variety and value that our resident students expect and deserve," said Martin.
As NEIU is about to demonstrate, one way UIC students can help to make sure they are satisfied and keep their food service is to take some initiative.
Students are ultimately responsible for the services they receive. When entering the cafeteria, ask for a comment ballot while your i-card is being swiped. Find a staff member to answer a question you may have. Students are encouraged to provide feedback.
Developing good communication and a good relationship with our foodservice providers and staff now will prevent problems like the ones experienced by NEIU.
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