Stonehill and Bon Appétit leaders heard dining complaints from students ranging from insufficient labeling of ingredients to dining hall workers making comments on students’ portion sizes.
The near-capacity crowd in Meehan 103 was full of Student Government Association members, class representatives, and students eager to ask questions and have their concerns addressed.
One student at the forum said a worker at The Commons, the main dining hall on campus, made inappropriate comments about her getting another portion of food.
“This happened yesterday at dinner. I was getting pasta, and then I was walking around and I’m like ‘oh there's nothing to eat’ and he’s [the worker] like ‘you don’t need anything else to eat,’” the student said. She also said freshmen have shared similar experiences with her.
“We did experience a worker doing that, and that worker was spoken to and is no longer serving students,” said Executive Chef Jeremy Weaver.
He said students should approach a manager or himself directly if a worker ever makes inappropriate comments to them. Students can also fill out comment cards, which are read by Weaver and allow him to take quick action to address issues. The cards are available at The Commons.
The same student also brought up concerns about workers in the dining hall being rude.
“We’ll go to them about something, and they’ll be rude to us, they’ll be crass,” she said.
Daniele Rossner, a regional manager of nutrition for Bon Appétit, said management will review customer training with workers to address the issue.
Concerns over allergens and cross-contamination took up much of the forum. Multiple students with dietary restrictions and sensitivities questioned why ingredient lists aren’t available on Bon Appétit’s website. The response given was that Bon Appétit is a “cook from scratch” company, meaning many items are not cooked from standardized corporate recipes.
Chef Weaver said they can’t always nail down ingredients directly if something has changed at the last minute or had to be substituted. Rossner also said that, in some instances, vendors will substitute products.
A student with celiac disease said she had a reaction from eating fries at The Hill and The Commons, even though the fries were labeled as not gluten-containing on the menu.
“They're labeled as not gluten-containing so I ate them, and I had a pretty significant allergic reaction to them with my celiac disease,” the student said, “Maybe that means they’re not gluten-containing, but that does mean people with gluten allergies or celiac disease can have reactions like I did.”
Chef Weaver said The Hill is not gluten-free and that only The Commons and The Sem have gluten-free fryers. He said they don't keep a lot of gluten-free fries on-hand due to cross-contact concerns, and it takes six minutes at most to make gluten-free fries for a student if requested.
Students with gluten sensitivities are also encouraged to not eat any food from a fryer.
“At places I’ve been and accounts that I see, I see it says gluten-free, but our water and oil don’t mix and they splatter, so anybody that is highly sensitive, I recommend not to eat anything from a fryer,” Rossner said.
Concerns were also raised about The Hill being the only late-night option for athletes and the lack of late-night gluten-free options. College officials said they will investigate what can be done to offer more options at night.
Rossner said that if a student has an allergic reaction, they should go to Chef Weaver or General Manager Paul Gabbidon so the incident can be reported and documented.
Weaver also said that even though a product might not contain gluten or another allergen, it is possible that cross-contamination can occur in self-serve areas such as the salad bar.
A vegetarian student said she experienced this issue at the pasta station in The Commons.
“I went to put cheese on top of my pasta, and there was ham in the cheese, and I picked up my spoonful of cheese and spread it on my pasta, and then there was ham all over my pasta,” the student said.
Despite these concerns, students had positive feedback for Bon Appétit as well. Executive President Cooper said SGA received comments from students about increased food quality, among other things.
“...some of the great feedback we got positively is that the food quality has increased significantly. We're seeing real satisfaction with students in that aspect,” Cooper said.
Students at the forum also said they enjoyed the new dessert section with pies, cookies, and other baked goods.
Cooper encouraged students to contact sga@stonehill.edu with any questions or concerns. Students can also stop by the SGA office in Commons 111.
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