At only the four week mark of the semester, recurring issues in the cafeteria, such as trash, plates and cups being left behind by careless, irresponsible and childish students, has cause havoc for the Chartwells food service director and his employees.
Charles Craddock, Chartwells director, just arrived in his position this semester, and already he and his 25 employees (made up of 14 full time staff and 11 part time and/or temporary staff) have experienced issues similar to that of high school student’s.
According to Craddock, groups of students, whether they be athletes or just regular students, have continued to disrespect the food establishment in more ways than one. “We see a lot of gum on the tables and floors,” Craddock said. “We also see the issues of the trash, cups and plates being left behind as well, but the worst I would say is the wasted food.”
On average, around 400 people eat dinner in the cafeteria, which results in nearly 200 more meals a day. Of that amount, Craddock said the amount of waste is at 17 percent so far this semester. That percent is figured upon the amount of people coming to cafeteria to eat, the amount of food prepared and the average serving size per individual.
Of the food wasted, Craddock said the item that is thrown away the most is the meat. “Chicken, beef, pork, whatever it may be, it’s being wasted and in large amounts too,” he said. “I understand if someone takes a serving and doesn’t like it, that’s fine, but when I see four pork chops on a plate coming back on the conveyer belt, for example, I don’t see an excuse for that.”
As of Sept. 9, the cost of pork chops sat at $1.04. “It may not sound like a lot, but you have to remember we’re in Alva and I buy in the mass,” Craddock said. When a student loads up their plate with a lot of food, they are really loading it up with dollar signs as each item on that plate has a physical and hypothetical price tag on it.
Craddock said, he views the whole situation of wasted food in a “you take it, you eat it” type of manner.
Another issue that Craddock said the cafeteria faces because of irresponsible and careless students, is that of leaving spilled drinks and food on the floors.
“Accidents happen, I know that,” Craddock said. “Sometimes you’re on your way back to the conveyer belt and a piece of food, or your drink drops on the floor or spills. But, instead of not thinking anything of it, let one of the workers know so they can clean it up.”
As a result of the cleanliness issues caused by the students, Craddock said the employees are forced to work a little harder during each meal cleaning up, as well as after. Also, the lack of cleanliness drives up the cost for Chartwells to keep the place clean as well.
Then as a result of the wasted food, Craddock said if that issue continues to occur in an excessive amount, the price of meal plans will likely go up.
When it comes to solutions for the childish acts by the students, Craddock asked, “Is it because I don’t have more trash cans available? Is it because when you drop or spill something, you are embarrassed to come tell me?” Then, he added that he invites the students to come up with solutions and present them to him.
As far as the chewing gum issue comes though, Craddock just said that issue is high school, and he had no clue on how to solve that one, except for maybe banning gum from the cafeteria all together, which in that case will indeed be high school for sure.
“All in all, every issue is manageable,” Craddock said. “It would be a lot easier if we had everyone’s cooperation though, whether that be taking their plates and cups back to the conveyer or just cleaning up after themselves.”