Prices in cafeteria drop in one year
(Steven Jung)
The food in the cafeteria has it ups and downs. Some students feel it is too expensive and others think the prices are adequate with delicious meals.
Students seem to not be able to get enough time in between classes to get lunch from either home or elsewhere which is why they tried the cafeteria food in the first place.
Kara Finkelstein said, “I think the food is too expensive and has poor quality.” It seems that Peyton Somerman would agree with Finkelstein about the prices.
Anna Barrientes disagrees with Finkelstein and Somerman, “I think the prices are fair and the quality is fairly good. I usually order the Asian entree though,” Barrientes said.
Jeanne Harris-Caldwell found the vendor for the cafeteria when she joined the food and beverage committee. When she joined the committee, the contract for finding a vendor was up for grabs. Harris-Caldwell is also the director of the health office on campus.
“A year ago I noticed that not only were the food prices more, but the choices were limited,” said Harris-Caldwell.
So it turns out the food prices are cheaper than they were a year ago. The schools previous vendor used to charge students on average $6.25 compared to the current vendor who charges students $5.50.
Sure the price difference is only 75 cents but the students get more options to choose from.
The same vendor that runs the cafeteria also supplies the snack vending machines but not the beverage ones.
The vendor, S and B Foods, has also brought organization to the school. Harris-Caldwell said, “The new vendor has worked hard to organize and make open spaces. We also wanted to give students more healthier choices.”
The two managers of the cafeteria, James and Cindy Gau just got a new fryer and grill to cook the food and are trying to get a sandwich bar opportunity so students can see how the sandwiches are prepared.
According to Harris-Caldwell, the vendor is also contributing to both students and academics.
The cafeteria recently purchased two 65 inch TVs for the students to watch in the cafeteria. They also offer a 10 percent discount to any student that has an ASB card.
The vendor helps make contributions to scholarship programs for the school. They have also organized a separate cafeteria for the instructors so they are not bothered by students during their lunch because let’s face it; who wants to work during their lunch hour?
Another feature that the vendor does is let the culinary students practice their skills. It helps those students because it is a way for them to get better at cooking, and the fact that they serve different types of foods helps the students learn how to cook various types of cuisines.
The reason Harris-Cladwell picked this particular vendor is because they do not only have better prices but high standards as well.
They expect their workers to have very good personal hygiene as well as have their won high sanitation standards as well as with the states health standards. S and B foods has not only Saddleback as its vendor; they are also at El Camino College and Cerritos College.
“One of the things I noticed that made me choose S and B Foods was they are at a lot of the southern California community colleges,” Harris-Caldwell said.
At first the college sent out an RFP ad that was open to any vendor when the school was discussing its vendor contracts. The school appointed someone to give tours to all the vendors that applied as well as have the vendors make a presentation to the committee.
The old vendor was interested in trying to keep the school but in the end the food and beverage committee felt it was time for a change. The committee that made the choice thinks this new vendor has not only better quality but also better quantity.
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)
(Steven Jung)