By: Andrew Rowan ’19, Editor in Chief and Andrew Shah ’19, Social Media Editor
Editor’s Note: Since Meeting for Worship for Business is designated as off-the-record, this article is based solely off notes written by Recording Clerk Micaela Coll and other students’ accounts of the meeting.
Upper School students expressed nearly three dozen concerns regarding Moorestown Friends’ Food Service provider, SAGE Dining, in Thursday morning’s Meeting For Worship For Business.
The request for feedback on the food comes in preparation for the Food Quality Meeting on January 23rd. Food Quality Meetings consist of class secretaries from each grade, along with other members from the community, meeting with SAGE Dining representatives and Director of Finance and Operations Lisa Carbone Warren.
Student complaints ranged from basic necessities such as SAGE Dining running out of food and plastic utensils to more nuanced requests, such as increasing transparency about contract lunch plans and serving higher quality Chinese food.
Due to its commitment to making all of the food in-house, SAGE Dining is limited in what they can do to respond to student concerns. One community member requested that pizza be brought up from a restaurant on Main Street, similar to what the previous service provider, Healthy Foods by Choice, did on Fridays. Individuals described SAGE’s pizza as “not up to par” and “like Chuck-E-Cheese’s,” according to the minutes.
Many students reported seeing a representative from SAGE Dining sitting in the balcony during the meeting; however, WordsWorth can confirm that it was a faculty member from another Friends school who met with the clerks after the meeting to discuss MFS’ student government.
During Upper School lunch Thursday, many felt their concerns were further validated when SAGE ran out of mac and cheese early in the period, even removing the sign from the Manja Manja (the equivalent to grab-’n-go) station.
In the aftermath of Meeting for Worship for Business, students who ate lunch at the Dining Hall remained unsatisfied with the quality and quantity of the food in the Dining Hall.
Senior Ethan Barr commented on his experience with SAGE Dining in the lunch period following the contested Meeting for Worship for Business in the video below.
Senior Mariana Goldlust said, “I like the lettuce and croutons, but the grilled chicken in the caesar salad is [difficult to cut] and hurts my teeth to chew.”
Meeting for Worship for Business Clerk Lizzie Cohen declined to comment on how she felt the meeting went.
The class secretaries are expected to bring the concerns voiced at MFWFB to SAGE Dining at the Food Quality Committee meeting next Wednesday.
The notes from the Food Quality portion of the Meeting for Worship for Business are copied below, exactly as they were posted on the Student Government website.
Food Quality
Just added sandwiches on Wednesdays and that is really good. Maybe they can add more?More transparency on what people on contract can actually getMore food must be made every day, food is running outPlastic cups for travelMore consistent about posting a price of foodLines are a tad chaotic and has gotten worse since entrance/exitHoagie Bar?Can’t really something we can get back at this momentLess fruit water, more regular waterMore forks, always running out The possibility of taking credit/debit cardBring back Gatoradesuggestion box doesn’t have pens a possibility of getting pizza from a place on the main street, pizza is not up to par Was brought up last time and they said it can’t be changedWhat happened to the old snack bar that had more snack variety What happened to the idea of a smoothie barBring back Chinese Food day, it is subpar now!Possibility that they have a calendar that is accurateBring back donutsBuff chicken wrap is not up to standardsIf no food that they like, just get snacks CONSENSUSOne day there were they really big cookies that were very good, bring them backBasic PB&J Can’t bring it back because of allergiesSoda is actually more unhealthyPizza takes like Chucky-Cheese pizzaMore clear signs of pricingCut chicken in Caesar SaladPut signs up for vegetarians so they know that is meant and what is notMake more clearBring back Kraft mac and cheeseGet another microwaveMore transparency in Meeting for Worship for business about changes that are being made in the dining hall