Cafeteria revamped: Sodexo takes over

First year students are not the only ones having a hard time finding their way around the cafeteria this fall. Upperclassmen are also finding themselves disoriented in a cafeteria displaying new faces, foods and functionality.

The changes began June 8 when Luther College outsourced its dining services to Sodexo, a French multinational corporation specializing in food services and facilities management.

Luther’s administration began discussing the possibility of outsourcing over a year ago. The administration initiated a year-long dining services study carried out by members of the campus community and outside specialists.

Before the switch, Luther ran its own dining services. Warren Palm, the director of dining services, was let go when Sodexo was introduced.

Diane Tacke, vice president for finance and administration, said the results of the study showed opportunities for wellness, more nutritional information, sustainability, more locally grown foods, professional development
and employee training.

In choosing Sodexo, Luther administrators felt they would be better able to capitalize on these opportunities. Sodexo serves over 800 college campuses nationwide. President Richard Torgerson noted Sodexo’s extensive connections as an advantage to the switch.

“Sodexo has resources the college doesn’t have on its own,” Torgerson said.

While Torgerson remains optimistic about the future, the announcement of the college’s partnership with Sodexo did surprise some of the Luther community, leaving many students, staff and faculty uneasy with the decision. As President Torgerson addressed the public on the change early this summer, students raised concerns about not being involved in the decision making process.

“The secrecy behind the decision is disconcerting, because it creates an uneasiness of not knowing.” said Mischa Fleishman (‘10). “Because we were left in the dark about the switch to Sodexo, we fear that if another change is
going to be made, there is no guarantee that we will be involved in that process.”

Outsourcing discussions were kept confidential through
much of the decision process.

“We were negotiating proprietary information and dealing with personnel
issues,” said Tacke.

“Unfortunately we didn’t communicate the outcome of the dining service evaluation to the Luther community.”

With Sodexo, President Torgerson hopes to raise the percent of local foods used on campus from 12 percent to 35 percent, an ambitious number considering that the Midwest’s growing season is much shorter than elsewhere in the United States.

“Sodexo is committed to increase the percent of food served from local growers,” Torgerson said.

To aid in this endeavor, the college hired Donna Bauck to serve as General Manager of Luther’s food service operations. Bauck last served as General Manager at the University of Minnesota-Morris, increasing their local, sustainable food purchases from $1,200 in 2001 to more than $80,000 in 2008.

Bauck plans to use the resources and people she has met in the past to help Luther reach their sustainability goals.

“Hopefully I can hook Luther up with UM-Morris to help out with any questions we may have,” Bauck said.

In addition to increased sustainability, Tacke believes Sodexo will improve dining services’ professional training.

“We had around eight Sodexo chefs on campus for the whole month of August,” Bauck said. “We also had many weeks of safety training and with the potential of H1NI virus safety is extremely important.”

Contrary to what some believe, the partnership with Sodexo will not save Luther College money—at least initially.

“Saving money was not the driving factor,” said Torgerson. “Our main concern is to return a percentage to the budget that helps the college, but in some of the ways it costs more with the goals we have. An increase in local foods puts pressure on the budget.”

The bottom line, according to Torgerson, is to enhance the student experience. He expects Marty’s, Oneota Market and Sunnyside Café to become destination places.

“My hope is that the caf becomes such an attractive place that it becomes one of the main stops when prospective students and families come to visit,” Torgerson said. “We want to make a positive impression.”

Time will tell whether Sodexo is a good fit for Luther College.

“It may be a year or two before we can say with 100 percent confidence that this was a good decision,” Torgerson said. “I believe in my mind it was.”