Fresh Ideas leadership attends SGA meeting with plans for dining hall betterment

On August 28, Fresh Ideas President Brian Dimmer and MC Dining Services Director Micah Vitali attended the Student Government Association meeting. Along with the SGA body, many students outside of SGA attended.

Dimmer stated that he wanted to begin the meeting with “the spirit of openness that we have absolutely had shortcomings and made some mistakes this week.” 

He then went on to explain that their shortcomings were a company failure, and did not fall onto Vitali. Some examples of these issues would be cross contamination, inaccurate menus and high wait times in Isaac’s Cafe.

       “The team I had put together to help [Vitali] open this account successfully, they truly failed us [and Micah],” Dimmer explained. “And we didn’t find out about it quickly enough.” Dimmer added that they have pivoted and moved some individuals out of those positions.

He explained that many issues had already been resolved, stating that Isaac’s has received new menu boards and new food items. He also promised the return of Isaac’s burrito bowls and that another set of pagers were on the way, to alleviate the shortage that was the center of many student complaints. These pagers have since arrived and remain in use.

Lily Little (‘27) asked a question that many students had been wondering about themselves.

“I just wondered what your current protocol for navigating dietary preferences and allergies in general is, and what it’s going to look like in the future?” Little asked. 

Dimmer replied that dietary preferences and restrictions are something that’s being tackled right now. He promised better signage and that the allergy-friendly station would no longer be self-serve, to prevent cross-contamination, an issue exacerbated by one students’ hospitalization from anaphylactic shock.

As students inquired on future Isaac’s renovations and improvements, many shared that they felt Isaac’s was severely understaffed. 

Vitali explained that they  replaced the supervisor in Isaac’s, that these changes are a focus for Fresh Ideas moving forward, but that it “is not going to happen overnight.”

He explained that Isaac’s will be closed for renovations over Thanksgiving break and will re-open for students at the beginning of the Spring Semester. The renovation will give Fresh Ideas more space, specifically more prep space so that employees don’t need to use an elevator to get to their prep area, Vitali said.

Students were also assured that while Issac’s is closed for renovations, Pearson’s will be extending hours to accommodate.

Ashton Hensley (‘27) brought up a conversation he heard about staff mistreatment, stating that training may have been unclear or staff may have been treated unfairly. 

Dimmer again stated this was because the wrong people were in leadership, and that moving forward things will be better.

“I mean, our employees are our number one asset and always have been. And you treat them – and everyone – with respect and counsel,” he said.

There were students who spoke positively about Fresh Ideas, praising good changes that have been made this school year. Several people noted fresh fruit and other new options available in the dining hall.

When students mentioned that food had run out several times in the last few weeks, Vitali apologetically explained.

“If you were at dinner last night, we had popcorn chicken, and we went through 70 pounds of popcorn chicken in 30 minutes,” Vitali said. “So now we know next time we run that, we’re gonna double that up. So we’re learning as we go.”

Vitali and Dimmer both encouraged students to take advantage of their contact information, and stated that they were working on setting up a board where students can fill out suggestion cards. 

Students also mentioned the noticeable lack of guest swipes this school year, and several spoke of experiences where they had tried to use a guest swipe and had unknowingly been charged from their Flex Dollars. 

“Guest wipes are not actually listed on the meal plan. You go to the website and look at the meal plan options, they’re not mentioned at all. It was a practice that Metz was doing. When we did the request for proposals, when we did the contract for Fresh Ideas, they were just never mentioned,” Ben Stubbs, dean of students explained.

“But we did talk to [Fresh Ideas] and they’re working on getting the guest swipe button in the system and to be able to track that, we are going to go back for this year to 10 guest swipes being in each plan,” Stubbs said. 

Students were also assured that the online menu would be correct from here on out, as they get into the rhythm of the school year. 

Most excitingly, Dimmer and Vitali informed students that a smoothie and boba tea machine would be opening in the campus store. It has since opened, and provides another option for students in the Market area.