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Table of Contents
Executive
Summary..1
Introduction..
.2
Research
Methods.4
Task 1. Survey the students to figure out if it is an actual problem and collect
data4
Task 2. Research into other dining options that other colleges and
universities use/provide...5
Task 3. Compare data and prepare this recommendation
report...6
Results...
7
Task 1. Survey the students to figure out if it is an actual problem and collect
data7
Task 2. Research into other dining options that other colleges and
universities use/provide...8
Task 3. Compare data
Conclusions...
11
Student
Attitudes...11
Recommendation
...12
References.
.13
Appendix A:
Survey..14
List of Illustrations
Figure 1.1 Percentage of Students Unhappy with Food
Quality.8
Figure 1.2 Johnson as Main Meal
Source9
Figure 1.3 West Dining Hall
Comparison.10
1
Executive Summary
As a York College of Pennsylvania residential student, I hear many diferent
complaint about the school and the schools services. Out of all of the
complaints, I noticed that most of them were about the food provided by
Chartwells Dining Services served in the Johnson Dining Hall and West
students, Johnson Dining Hall is the main source of food for breakfast, lunch
and dinner. Most of the students eat at the dining hall at least once a day
(residential) or at least twice a week. Some of the main issues with the food
Undercooked or under-flavored
No selection
Upsets the students stomachs
Cold when served
Too dry or too greasy
After asking for the students to identify the problems with the food, I asked
for any potential fixes of those problems. Many students could not give any
real solution to the problems, which means that the problems are not too
widely negative to the school community or the students are not aware of
healthy, with less sickness, and happy. Happier students would do better in
Introduction
conclusions.
complaint about the school and the schools services. Out of all of the
complaints, I noticed that most of them were about the food provided by
Chartwells Dining Services served in the Johnson Dining Hall and West
students, Johnson Dining Hall is the main source of food for breakfast, lunch
and dinner. 52% of the York College student population live on-campus and
3
48% living of-campus. Most of the students eat at the dining hall at least
once a day (residential) or at least twice a week, the main meals being lunch
source of meals to keep them well fed. Eating well keeps better health and
students all expressed that the quality of the food being served was less
than satisfactory. Many issues that were pointed out were that the food was
too dry or too greasy and upset the students stomachs after eating. The
students were then asked to come up with solutions that they thought were
possible to fix or improve these problems. The common response was that
they thought the Johnson Dining Hall staf could spend more time on the
In comparison, I did research into the dining services of nearby schools and
University. I compared the diferent options and services that their schools
provided with that of York College and Chartwells Dining Service. A common
finding was that other colleges and universities ofered a wider variety of
dining options inside and outside of the main dining hall. There are less limits
on what a student can eat on any given day. Even Shippensburg University
and Towson University, two colleges that use Chartwells Dining Services,
4
ofers more variety than York College. This may be due to the size of the York
Research Methods
To acquire the information that Professor Waddell required for the report, I
data
2. Research into other dining options that other colleges and universities
use/provide
3. Compare the data and prepare this recommendation report
The following tasks are outlined and described in the following discussion.
In order to make sure that the quality of the food in the Johnson Dining Hall is
opinions on the quality of the food. It asked questions that had the students
The questions were designed to make students think harder about the food
they are putting into their bodies, rather than just if they like it or not. Taste
is important, but so is the health factor. The questions varied from free
response, which gave more detail, to yes or no questions, which gave solid
data. Both were helpful because they provided insight into how the students
felt individually as well as if they all feel similarly about the quality of the
foods in Johnson.
Task 2. Research into other dining options that other colleges and
universities use/provide.
I had to look into the dining services that other colleges and universities
used in order to compare how Chartwells options appeared to be. The first
school I researched was Towson University. Towson also uses the Chartwells
Dining Services, however they ofer eighteen diferent dining venues on their
campus. York College of Pennsylvania only ofers five on-campus venues, not
counting Parma Pizza and Grill. These options are the all-you-can-eat dining
halls Johnson and West, Sparts Den, Appell Caf and Pura Vida Caf. The
diversity is lacking, but that may be because of the size of the campus. York
College is a small college with limited space. Towson even ofers diferent
selections for food, some of them catering to specific needs, such as health
foods. Penn State University, which has a much larger campus, has over
thirty-five options to choose from. The size of the campus is taken into
6
account, but the variation is great, from Asian food places to Mexican
Dining Service, but ofers other options in the dining areas, like Papa Johns.
I think that York College would benefit from allowing other options like Papa
Johns or Chik-fil-a exist on the campus. Students would be willing to pay for
the food because it is something they know and like. The variety would allow
students to feel less stuck with their options. It creates a sense of choice. In
the surveys, many students, when asked if theyd rather eat somewhere
besides Johnson, responded with answers like Chipotle, Panera, Pizza Hut or
anywhere else. It is a safe assumption that most students are not happy with
of the York College students dont eat the suggested five or more servings of
fruits and vegetables per day. This is just one of the many statistics that the
Cartwells Dining Service site provides. 78% of students would choose a high
fat option over a low fat option. The website suggests that time poverty
These statistics are why the school ofers the standard 225 Meal Plan Block
(15 meals/week) to all first year students and students who live in dorm
buildings. Students who live in apartment buildings that come with a fully
equipped kitchen have the options between the 225 Meal Plan, the Unlimited
+ $100 Dining Points, 225 Advantage + $125 Dining Points, 165 Advantage
+ $275 Dining Points, 125 Block + $75 Dining Points, 75 Block + $50 Dining
Points or the 50 Block + $30 Dining Points. The first number is the amount of
swipes a student can use in either the Johnson or West Dining Halls and the
dining points can be used at the three other, smaller options. The prices of
the meals plan vary, with the most expensive of the plans being $2,845 and
the cheapest plan being $565. These plans are designed to cater to a variety
Results
those who answered the survey said that they did not enjoy the food
selection in Johnson (shown in Fig. 1.1 below). 66.04% of the students who
8
answered the survey called the food quality neutral. 13.21% said the quality
was bad, 3.77% said very bad and 16.98% claimed that the food quality was
good. No one said it was very good. Most students said that the food was one
of the following:
There were also complaints about the fact that students felt upset stomachs
after eating in the dining hall. All of these things are problematic for a
students health. Unhealthy students are less likely to attend their classes
and may fall behind on their work. Students with poor health are also less
motivated to work hard in classes and spend more time in bed than out in
the school community. Continuous problems with the dining hall food may
throughout the day or it could lead to weakness, low mental stimulation and
other risks. A students health should be there first priority and the college
should aim to make sure that they do not contribute to poor health. One of
the questions asked the students to come up with their own solutions to the
problems with the food. The common response was that they thought the
Johnson Dining Hall staf could spend more time on the food, paying
Task 2. Research into other dining options that other colleges and
universities use/provide
Overall in the diferent universities that I looked into, most of them had
similar, if not the same dining services, but their selection was much wider
and ranged outside of that particular dining service. All of the students
taking the survey said they would rather eat anywhere else besides Johnson
Dining Hall, even if they had to pay more money for their food. Many
students would rather make their own food in a kitchen rather than eat the
Johnson Dining Hall food. Out of the five options that York College has to
ofer, the smaller on-campus dining options, such as Sparts Den, are more
popular with the students than the actual all you care to eat dining halls.
10
Despite these statistics, the student population doesnt seem to favor the
Chartwells Dining Service. The aim of the service was to better the statistics
and make sure that the students eat better and healthily. The students that
answered my survey, however, expressed that they didnt think the food was
that good. There wasnt much comment on fruit, but the vegetables were
seasoned.
Out of the 54 students in my survey, not many of them ate more than one
meal a day in Johnson, as seen above in Figure 1.2. 55.77% said that Johnson
was not their main source of meals, so they do not rely solely on the food
there to feed them. However, 63.83% of the students said that the West
Dining Hall had the same problems as Johnson, as seen in Figure 1.3.
11
Chartwells has made eforts to correct the issues with the students issues
with eating here at York College, but their eforts have not seemed to make
much of a diference.
Conclusions
Student Attitudes
The students seem to be in the neutral to unhappy state of mind about the
quality of food in Johnson Dining Hall. There were many problems indicated
with the food, however, the students did not seem to want to provide helpful
afecting them. The students seem to expect that the problems will be fixed
by the school in time, but do not feel the need to jump in right now and
correct the problems. Only 54 students answered the survey, despite it being
sent out to over 100 students. This lack of response alone in an indicator that
the students do not see this problem as something they need to contribute
Overall, I think that my conclusion would be that the students of York College
most of them do not know how fix it or do not feel the need to involve
Recommendation
Services and just try to focus on the quality over quantity of food. Based on
the size of the campus, it is not feasible to put in any more facility options.
Space is not something that can be controlled by the school board and York
budget is not big enough to focus on the food. There have been no serious
problems caused by the food and students, despite complaining, still eat at
the dining locations that they are given. No real change is an option at the
current moment.
References
13
http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/auxservices/dining/
"Dine On Campus" Ship Dining. Chartwells, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. From
http://www.dineoncampus.com/ship/
Food Services. Food Services University Park Residential Dining. Penn State
cmd=sustainability
has nine questions altogether. Some of the students may or may not have
skipped questions when taking the survey. The questions that include [ ]
after them represent a text box, open-ended answer that the student could
Student Survey
6 If you had the choice, would you eat somewhere besides Johnson? If so,
where?
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