Concerned Mouths online against Sodexo

As Sodexo continues to serve the cafeteria, social networking sites continue to serve as a forum for disgruntled students. “Concerned Mouths-- the Luther Community Against Sodexo” is a Facebook group administered by Ben Weiss (‘10) as a way for the community to voice their questions and concerns about Sodexo.

The group began as a group for the Luther community to rally against Sodexo. Since the public was not informed of the switch to Sodexo until the summer, Weiss wanted a place where people could communicate before fall semester started.

“When we go home for the summer, Facebook is how we communicate,” Weiss said.

Within a week the group had 250 members and now has 620 members, including students, faculty, alumni and residents of Decorah. Weiss plans to use his involvement with Food Council to the benefit of the community against Sodexo.

“I’ve taken on the role of making sure people who are asking questions get answers if I’m able to get answers for them,” Weiss said.

Sodexo’s plans at Luther seem nebulous to many members of Concerned Mouths, prompting them to take an interest in Sodexo’s goals on campus.

“One thing that Concerned Mouths wanted to do is hold Sodexo accountable for what they say they’re going to do here on campus,” Weiss said.

The contract that Luther has with Sodexo, President Torgerson terms as proprietary. Only Luther administration knows the details of the contract so they are the only two that can hold the parties accountable so there are less faces voicing their opinion.

Students are not only concerned about the overall quality of the food but with the accuracy of information. For students with food allergies like Bradin Hammon (‘10), inaccurate nutrition facts can pose a threat.

There was an incident where the recipe for scrambled tofu was switched on campus but the recipe was not updated on the website.

“This is a pretty big issue for those of us with food allergies,” Hammon said.

Hammon feels there needs to be a great deal of transparency in the nutrition value which simply isn’t there. For students with food allergies, it is not an issue of quality of food but accuracy of information that needs to be addressed for their safety.

“If this has been going on all year Sodexo should consider itself very lucky that they haven’t been sued,” Hammon said.

The biggest issue for Concerned Mouths is getting answers for the feeling of discontent that the community has with Sodexo. One of the heads of the food council told Weiss, “Really, our decisions are only made with the President.”

Weiss wonders what this service company is really offering if the needs of their customers are not being considered. However, Weiss reports that he has heard Sodexo has taken an interest in the Facebook group and check in frequently to see what people have to say.

A growing Facebook group, Concerned Mouths is a place to raise awareness as well as to provide a sounding board and answers to students with questions and concerns about Sodexo. Weiss hopes this will allow for more transparency between faculty and students while working toward an answer for the “concerned mouths” of the Luther community.