Yesterday, representatives from Creative Dining (headquarters in Zeeland, Michigan) came to give their hour long presentation in the Recital Hall. Quite an interesting experience...
There was a lot of commotion as I walked in to the FAB and students crowded around several tables. Creative Dining reps were serving three kinds of popcorn on either side of a chic, white shelf display holding apples, bananas, pears, clementines, and Jones Soda - complete with straws. Well played.
Unfortunately, the actual presentation was a bit less impressive. They started with a promo video to 'give us a better idea of who we are as a company'. We saw lots of pictures of happy students to the beats of super cheesy spa techno music, with words like 'Sustainable' 'Authentic' 'Collaboration' 'Responsive' flashing on the screen. I'm not trying to be harsh, but I felt like I was in high school. They showed three similar short videos throughout the presentation.
In between the videos, several representatives briefly spoke. They emphasized their desire to become a partner of our institution and to work with K students. They would have opportunities for student employment, leadership and scholarships. They stressed 'trustworthy' 'attentive' and 'flexible' as three key traits of their company. They're dedicated to being transparent and customizing their practices to the campus they're serving. "What makes us unique is our ability to be flexible." They serve at Albion, Hope, Calvin and a few other small religiously affiliated colleges.
They have a program called Globe that focuses on bringing global cuisine to the cafeteria. The chef said he would be willing to have international students back in the kitchen, showing them how to prepare something the authentic way.
The majority of their food comes from Gordon Food Service, what they see as a local company. They also have relationships with 22 local producers in our area (within 100 miles). They referenced buying CSA shares (community supported agriculture) so that farmers can have an income to count on and not have to 'drag their stuff to the market'. It is definitely beneficially for farmers to have a secure buyer before the crops are even harvested.
When asked how the caf would be different if they operated it, they stressed the presentation of the food. "I want students to come in and say, the food looks good in here today," Jeanine (I can't remember her title) said. She talked about the color and presentation and wanting students to have a hard time deciding what to eat because it all looks so good.
They were also asked about treatment of workers, both their own and on the farms from which they purchase their food. They said all current caf workers would be able to apply for a position with Creative Dining. They didn't go into specifics about wages or health benefits. They seemed unsure how to respond to the part about migrant workers, and one rep said, "We don't pretend to know what goes on behind closed factory and farms doors." ...at least they were being honest?
Clearly, Creative Dining was not as well practiced at presenting their company as Bon Appetite. They are smaller, younger, and have fewer resources and money (although they did spend quite a bit on providing free food...) and just seemed less confident. They hadn't done as much research about our school and didn't have a many plans for what they would do differently as our food provider. They did seem very passionate about working with us and doing what WE as K College want. The orange popcorn and the K cookies and cookie cutters were definitely a reflection of this intent to 'customize'.
It seems that Creative Dining would be very willing to work with us to get what we want in the caf, but that they have less knowledge and experience addressing the issues we care about as a social justice oriented campus.
These are my personal reflections and I definitely didn't cover everything. I would love to hear other's thoughts on the presentation, so please comment!
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