 "Photo: KIRSTEN OVERBY/MANITOU MESSNEGER")
If you have found yourself standing by the beverage lines in Stav Hall waiting for a cup that’s nowhere to be seen, you are not alone. If you are wondering why your food has been on a white plate that you have only before seen at Christmas Festival, you are not the only one. The cafeteria has been short on plates and cups since the beginning of the semester.
Workers have been rushing to put cups out as soon as they are washed, but bowls and plates are dangerously hot after being washed, so they are not available right away. The home line has been using plates from the King’s Dining Room to reduce the pressure on the dish room workers.
Board Manager of Stav Hall Randy Clay said the lack of dishes is the result of a decision Bon Appetit made at the beginning of the school year. Stav Hall used to have a standing order of dishes and would receive a set amount on a regular schedule. Bon Appetit’s management team concluded that this was a wasteful and financially irresponsible policy. The decision was made to try ordering dishes as needed rather than keeping a standing order.
“We came into this year challenging the status quo of how we order small wares,” Clay said.
Bon Appetit has placed a couple of small ware orders throughout the year, including one for new bowls in January. Clay said the new system has mostly worked well so far.
But when second semester began, Stav Hall was suffering from a dish shortage. Bon Appetit placed an order as soon as the issue became apparent but receiving the new dishes has taken a while. Clay chalked it up to still getting used to the timing of the new system.
“It was a learning process,” he said.
Clay also asked students on a comment card outside the cafeteria to avoid the dinner rush by coming earlier or later. He said this has been successful. Clay said the lack of dishes is “as frustrating for us as it is for the students,” but he also said that borrowing plates from the King’s Dining Room and asking students to avoid the 6 p.m. dinner rush has mostly alleviated the issue. The new cups have already arrived and plates are coming soon.
Clay explained the issue to the Student Government Association at the Feb. 23 Senate meeting. He went to the meeting to discuss food waste in Stav Hall, but ended up talking to SGA about why the cafeteria has been low on small wares.
Students have had mixed reactions to the missing dishes. Paul Storm ’13 said he hasn’t noticed the issue, but he also said he usually comes to dinner early.
Sam Mickle ’12 said he gets a little frustrated when he cannot find dishes, particularly trays.
“I mean, I want to eat when I get there,” he said.
Kaylee Fortin ’11 has especially noticed missing cups and bowls, even though Clay has said that there is no shortage of bowls.
“Sometimes I get frustrated because I look for bowls and they’re never there,” Fortin said.
Ellie Holtz ’12 said she hasn’t been bothered much by the dish shortage.
“It seems to have gotten better,” she said. “It’s kind of a bummer sometimes, but I think they’re doing all they can.”
Students may blame an increase in stealing as the cause for the lack of dishes. But Clay said the rate of stealing has been fairly steady. He suggested that stealing dishes might be more noticeable now because the Caf is waiting for new dishes, so every stolen dish becomes a problem. Clay said he has received many suggestions for curbing stealing, but he hasn’t landed on one that works.
“If I make a big deal about [stealing] I think we’re just going to lose more,” Clay said. “We just want people to do the right thing.”
He did say there was a rash of stolen salt and pepper shakers earlier this year, but he doesn’t think people have been stealing more dishes than usual.
Clay emphasized that he doesn’t view this shortage of dishes as a problem. He said Bon Appetit is learning how this more financially and environmentally sustainable system for ordering small wares works for Stav Hall. He said the dish room workers have been very good about keeping up when they are aware of what is needed. The dish orders have either come in or are on their way, and soon students should not have to deal with missing dishes any more often than before.
salmon@stolaf.edu
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