When Compass Group took over food services this past summer, students hoped their dining experience would improve. Well into the semester, however, some students have said the absence of certain foods has left them dissatisfied.
Organic options are currently limited and soy milk is unavailable in the Great Hall, presenting challenges for the lactose-intolerant and environmentally conscious. Compass Group representatives said they are working to improve eco-friendly food offerings.
"I love soy milk, and it's upsetting that it's not here," sophomore Chelsea Echenique said.
Many-including Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst-said they have not noticed the semester-long absence of soy milk.
"I'm not able to get there every day, so I didn't know, but basic products are supposed to be offered," Wulforst said. "There should definitely be soy milk-there are supposed to be products for lactose-intolerant individuals."
Marcia Austero, area vice president for the Compass Group, said she hopes soy products will soon become available but said finding suitable container sizes has been a problem.
"We just don't think it would be successful to offer quarts of Silk [Soymilk] in the Great Hall," Austero said.
Although the all-you-can-eat style of the East Campus Marketplace offers soy milk in quarts, she said the a la carte partitioning of food in the Great Hall makes this idea unwieldy.
"We are currently working with a company, Unify United Naturals, to get these retail packs for milk, but they've just been slower getting started than we expected," she said.
She added that the dining program is also looking at other Unify offerings, including increased organic options.
"You might see more things like are offered at Whole Foods," Austero said.
Junior Vanessa Barnett-Loro, president of the Environmental Alliance, wrote in an e-mail that despite the stall in Compass' efforts, the University was making progress in adding organic foods to its dining program.
"In terms of eco-friendly dining options on campus... they're getting better," she said. "EA and other groups-like the Duke University Greening Initiative-have been working hard with Dining Services to improve them."
Although Barnett-Loro said the most eco-friendly places to eat on campus are the Refectory, the Faculty Commons and the Nasher Museum Cafe, Wulforst said he hopes the Compass-commissioned eateries will soon be counted among them.
"Compass is not where it needs to be, but they are very anxious to implement programs that are more local and organic," Wulforst said.
The higher cost of organic foods, however, makes their widespread use difficult, according to a 2004 study by Greg Andeck, Nicholas '05, on the extent of eco-friendly practices in eateries on campus.
"Of the 23 eateries on campus, only the upscale Washington Duke Inn regularly uses organic ingredients, other than coffee," Andeck wrote in the paper. "Eatery managers described cost premiums as the primary obstacle to the use of organic products."
Wulforst said economic concerns factored into dining decisions.
"Many things we do in dining go unnoticed. We try to implement new programs, but when no one buys them, we have to stop," Wulforst said.
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