Is Stu food unappetizing or are we just used to it? This has been a topic on everyone’s mind for the past few months as school has started again. Some students enjoy it while others particularly do not.
Sodexo Stu Head, Angelica Garcia, clarified how much time Sodexo spends planning, making and cleaning up after each meal. A lot of effort and time goes into planning the meals for each week, but not necessarily from the Stu staff.
Garcia said, “Each week is a menu cycle that we get from our partnership with Sodexo. We receive the menus and we revise and adapt them based on what students need and want.”
She emphasized how the staff must follow a certain guideline when making the food, which includes all the food groups, in order for each student to have a balanced meal. When asked about how long it takes to prepare and clean up from each meal, she said it takes ten hours the day before and four hours the day of to prepare. However, it takes different amounts of time for cleaning up depending on how much of a mess students leave in Stu.
It has been taking longer than expected to clean up because of students leaving their dishes on the tables. This issue has been a round for a while and has ultimately gotten worse. The mess in lower stu is an example of how it’s gotten worse
She also said, “It puts more stress on us and puts another thing on our plate that we have to fit in.” As Sodexo already has many obligations and things to get done, students should be more conscientious of what they leave behind.”
If you were here last year you may remember the carnival lunch day in Stu. These themed lunch days happen at any time of the school year. Garcia said they do them seasonally, such as the fall theme day. They decide to do these theme days based on students feedback from the dining committee they had done in the past and staff ideas to create a better lunch environment.
New to LFA, Freshman Ami Rosen said,“Stu food tastes good, it’s much better than my old school, there are a variety of options such as the salad and sandwich bar.” She emphasized how she’s noticed the stress students leaving dishes in Stu has reflected upon sodexo. LFA students should be thankful for the hard work sodexo has put in to make meals more enjoyable. This is a privilege to have our own dining staff, we shouldn’t take that for granted.
