The food situation on campus has been nothing short of frustrating since Chartwells took over as the University of Idaho’s food vendor.
Last August, every place to eat in the Idaho Student Union Building closed except Einstein Bros. Bagels, and they had to limit their menu until recently. All of this happened because of the massive labor shortages the nation has been experiencing.
For students, having only one place to get food during lunch time in the busiest building on campus meant waiting in long lines, receiving messed up orders, having to walk elsewhere to get food or even just skipping lunch.
All of these are things students shouldn’t have to do on campus, especially after paying thousands of dollars for a meal plan they couldn’t use. Chartwells and Idaho Eats impressions on students seem mixed, with some students having allergic reactions to mislabeled food and others having good overall experiences.
Idaho Eats Director of Marketing Kim Howe said they reached out to any students who had allergic reactions as soon as they could, and the teams in the kitchens had “passionate” conversations about making sure they were serving what was on the menu.
From Howe’s perspective, the restaurants in the ISUB were better off closed than they were open, where they would likely cause even more issues for both students and employees. Twice the number of long lines for students and twice the number of overworked employees in understaffed operations.
Howe said there were a few things they were doing as an employer to help battle labor shortages and get themselves to a place where they could serve UI students to the best of their ability while still reaching students’ expectations.
Idaho Eats is actively hiring both on and off campus for full-time and part-time positions as well as cross training nearly all of their employees so they can have coverage where it’s needed most.
“If we have someone call out at Cravings by Joe, we know I can pull (other people) and they can go down there to cover that shift,” Howe said. “Because it’s cold and flu season, people call out and life happens. Children get sick, and we have to make sure we support our associates so they can support their families.”
While the university hasn’t always been known for their competitive pay, Idaho Eats is paying $14 an hour. The local McDonald’s is paying $15 an hour, and the wages at various local restaurants swings between $10-$15 an hour to be a server or cook.
“It’s funny when people ask what Idaho’s minimum wage is,” John Kosh, Auxiliary Services director of marketing and communications, said. “I say it doesn’t really matter what (wages are) in Treasure Valley. It matters what it is in Pullman, for us. And the funny joke I heard just recently is ‘Who sets the minimum wage?’ It is McDonald’s.”
For students who left last semester with meal swipes still on their accounts, we hope the university has a plan for reimbursing them for what wasn’t used after charging upwards of $990 for meal plans.
It took longer than both Howe and Kosh thought it would to reopen everything on campus, they said, and they eventually stopped putting out dates so they would stop disappointing the community.
Despite the frustrating, months-long journey of a lack of food accessibility on campus, Idaho Eats is working on opening things back up and, according to Howe, Chick-fil-A will open again on Feb. 14 after initially having supposed to be reopened last November. One World Cafe in the Janssen Engineering Building has reopened and Einstein’s has restored most of their menu.
It was a rocky start, but here’s to hoping there’s a better future for food on campus with Chartwells and Idaho Eats running the show.
–Editorial Board
Students who have allergies can visit the Dine On Campus website to connect with a dietician and discuss dining options.