College Cafeterias Above Average in 21 of 23 Categories

Author: Samuel Wilson

Every two years Middlebury College participates in the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) survey. Earlier this past fall, students were asked to complete questionnaires at dining halls. These rated the quality of various aspects of dining at Middlebury on a scale of one to five. The results have been tabulated with Middlebury scoring above the national average in 21 of 23 categories.
The only two categories in which Middlebury did not surpass the national average are "availability of seating" and "layout of facility."
"It is possible that this relative dissatisfaction is the product of overcrowding in dining halls in 2000, and confusion [associated] with the opening of Ross in 2002," Director of Dining Services Peter Napolitano said.
Evidence for this is apparent in the fact that Middlebury College dining halls and retail units combined, which include the golf course, The Grille, Rehearsals CafÈ and the Snow Bowl, scored better than just the dining halls alone. Student overcrowding and the opening of Ross Dining Hall do not affect the retail units as much as it does the dining halls.
The dining halls and retail units scored .06 points below the national average in both categories, while the dining halls alone scored .22 points below in "layout of facility" and .29 points below in "availability of seating."
"It is our hope that satisfaction in these two areas has risen since the compilation of this survey in the fall," Napolitano said. With both students and staff becoming more accustomed to Ross, the overcrowding and chaos there has waned since the fall. In addition, the completion of the Atwater Commons dining hall in a few years should further alleviate these problems. Over the next decade, when the other commons have their dining halls built, should hopefully eliminate the problems.
In the other 21 categories on the survey, Middlebury stood well above the national average. In categories dealing with the food served, the average difference between Middlebury and the national average for dining halls and retail units is .58 points, with Middlebury scoring .79 points above in "value," .63 points above in "freshness" and .57 points above in "overall satisfaction."
Without the retail units, the dining halls average score for the same group is .63 above the national mean. Middlebury scored .75 points above in "value," .7 points above in "freshness" and .63 points above in "overall satisfaction."
The other categories in the food group include "taste," "eye appeal" and "nutritional content."
Middlebury dining employs roughly 130 people full time. "The friendliness from our staff is pretty hard to beat. We respond to our committees and student input and the students appreciate it," Napolitano said.
On the survey, the dining halls and retail units scored on average .4 points above the national average for the group of categories dealing with service. The dining halls alone scored .42 points above the national average. The categories in this group are "overall service," "speed of service," "hours of operation," helpfulness of staff" and "friendliness of staff."
The biggest problem facing the dining halls is the issue of waste, an issue that was not addressed on the survey. Uneaten food and lost dishes cost Dining Services about $35,000 per year. Middining is trying to educate the student body in the problems of this waste in hopes of cutting it back.
"This is a huge issue environmentally and financially for the school," Napolitano said.