Sodexo cracks down on off-campus food
The stereotype is all too familiar – college students love free food – and for many years, Augustana University’s Union Board of Governors has been using this method to boost event attendance.
But here’s the twist – UBG picks popular name brands. Instead of advertising wings, they advertise Wingstop; instead of cookies, they offer Crumbl Cookies. The technique works.
However, student organizations such as UBG may not be able to use this method as often now due to more rigid enforcement of Augustana and Sodexo’s exclusive contract.
Under this contract, everything served at Augustana will be Sodexo’s food. Students and staff must order food for any event or meeting through Sodexo. If Sodexo cannot fulfill the order, the organization or department may go to an off-campus source with Sodexo’s permission.
The exclusive agreement between Augustana and Sodexo is neither new nor out of the ordinary. The contract has been in place since 2013. Sodexo serves 425 universities nationwide, according to Sodexo Public Relations, and exclusive contracts are common among them.
Marya Mayne, Sodexo catering manager, explained why Sodexo is cracking down on this policy.
“The stricter enforcement of this policy has more to do with Sodexo having proper documentation of food that is consumed on campus more than it is about Sodexo wanting fewer instances of off-campus food,” Mayne said. “The university and Sodexo are united in asking the University community to follow this policy.”
On the other hand, Karie Frank, the division coordinator of humanities, is under the impression that the goal of this change is to curb spur-of-the-moment expenses and encourage proactivity.
“The new part is enforcing the policy,” Frank said. “It’s a matter of communicating.”
Consequently, this policy change will limit department budgets, Frank says.
For example, if a professor wanted a platter of 48 cookies from HyVee for a division meeting, they would spend $23.96. The same number of cookies from Sodexo costs $51.07.
Furthermore, if one wanted to bring a platter of home-baked cookies to a meeting, they would have to ask Sodexo’s approval, according to Mayne.
Students were not pleased about Sodexo and Augustana’s change in enforcement, according to UBG head governor Alex Folgar. This policy means that the food at events will resemble the food Sodexo serves to students every day at the cafeteria.
“At our last event, a bunch of guys that we’ve never seen come to UBG events showed up because they saw we had Wingstop, and then they actually stayed for the remaining hour of the event,” Folgar said.
Will Swart, professor of sociology and Civitas director, shares Folgar’s belief that off-campus food tends to have advantages. When planning events for the honors program, he likes to cater off-campus food as a treat for his students.
“It’s sometimes nice to bring in things students wouldn’t normally get,” Swart said.
As far as the future of attendance at UBG events, Folgar says he trusts that his “great team” of governors will continue to draw people to events but finds the change disappointing for other reasons. Folgar noted UBG’s unique ability to promote local brands such as SoDak Soda, a soft drinks shop.
“We were the first to bring SoDak Soda here to campus,and that was one of the biggest hits ever,” Folgar said about the 2024 spring dance UBG hosted. “We saw an increase in attendance.”
Following the dance, SoDak Soda has already made another appearance at Augustana. Folgar is hopeful that UBG will bring the brand back a third time for an upcoming event, pending Sodexo’s permission.
