Good Evening, Commons

In the past several weeks I have had several disappointing interactions with food service in the Commons. I think a potential food customer would be hard-pressed to find another place where, during the mid-to-late afternoon, a high-volume food service station routinely runs out of supplies, or a place that refuses to sell customers certain menu items as early as thirty minutes before closing time.

Overall I have been very disappointed with the service and food quality in some areas of the Commons, and unfortunately there is very little in terms of consequences if and when our contractor underperforms.

However. As has already been picked up by the folks at UMBC Underground, an RFP (Request for Proposal) has already been put out outlining UMBC's minimum expectations for a new contract. This means that every contractor who submits a proposal must do the things in the RFP, with additional things being the factors that differentiate one company from another. It's not so much about changing the name of the contractor (Sodexho provides food services for a large number of colleges and universities, some reportedly quite well); rather, it is about making our expectations for services clear and choosing a company that is committed to making those things happen throughout the duration of the commitment.

Issues surrounding food services have become very dear to me over the months - they were one of the reasons I originally decided to run for Senate. Some of the key points have already been extracted from the RFP by UU's Short. I think the requirements do a lot to address some of the key issues students have had with campus food services, but there is still room for improvement. I, along with many other students and campus administrators, would like to see a complete elimination of so-called "meal-zoning," instead allowing a student who has purchased a meal plan to use it whenever and wherever he or she pleases, regardless of the time or venue.

This is an exciting time to affect some very visible and positive change on our campus. It is my goal that by this time next year, UMBC is going to have one of the best food service offerings in the state, as rated by UMBC students.