2011 November 10th

Residence Student Dining Committee

Minutes of Meeting

Date:               Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Attendees:       UTM                Bill McFadden, Andrea De Vito

Students          Nana Zhou, Shezin Chatur, Klarice Segeren, Terrance Ge, Elizabeth Kim, Prateek Sangal

 

  1. OLD BUSINESS
    • ELIMINATION OF BOTTLED WATER
      1. Bill reviewed the first phase of the 5-year plan to eliminate bottled water at UTM
        • 4 bottle-filling stations have replaced water fountains and 8-10 gooseneck waterspouts have been retrofitted to existing fountains across campus
        • 75% of bottled water available for sale has been eliminated on campus in the first year, with 100% elimination targeted before the end of the 5-year plan
    • OPENING OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL BUILDING CAFÉ AND LOUNGE
      1. Bill mentioned that the Instructional Building Café and Lounge opened in July – 2 months earlier than originally planned
    • FOOD SERVICE SURVEY
      1. Bill highlighted some of the key findings from the Food Service Survey that was presented to the UTM Community in March 2011
        • The community wanted more food service choice, more healthy options, and more food service diversity on campus
        • Specifically, the community wanted more Asian options, more vegetarian options, and more International options
        • ACTION – Bill agreed to bring the results of the Food Service Survey to a future meeting for a more in-depth discussion
    • BLACKBOARD UPGRADE
      1. Bill summarized the upgrade process to the Blackboard POS System and the corresponding operational changes
        • The UTM is now hosting the St. George POS and Meal Plan Server
        • As a result, St. George will pay for a large portion of the required costs for the upgrade

 

  • VENDING UPDATE
    1. Bill indicated that the UTM would be entering into a new contract with their existing vending partner, which differed from the direction taken by St. George and UTSC
  • CHARTWELLS UPDATE
    1. Bill reviewed the fact that daily food service transactions have moved from 2,500/day 4 years ago to 10,000/day in 2011/12
    2. As a result of this rapid growth, Bill acknowledged that Hospitality and Retail Services is now in a position to fund its growth over the next few years
    3. Bill mentioned that Chartwells at the UTM won the Ontario account of the year for all of Chartwells, and that the Head Chef won Chartwells’ National Associate of the Year

 

  1. NEW BUSINESS
    • FOOD SERVICES BUDGET
      1. Bill reviewed the Food Service Budgeting Process as part of RPPC and explained that the deadline for preparing and presenting the budget is over 1 month earlier this year
      2. Bill reviewed the Food Services Budget/Forecast for 2011-12 with the students, highlighting the following items in the Budget/Forecast:

REVENUE

  • Meal Plan Revenue is forecasted higher than budget due to a higher proportion of students selecting larger meal plans
  • Cafeteria Revenue is forecasted higher than budget due to a larger population and due to the fact that the Instructional Building Café and Lounge opened earlier than expected

EXPENSES

  • Supplies Expense is forecasted higher than budget as a result of the purchase of UTM reusable water bottles to support the elimination of bottled water on campus and as a result of UTM’s costs associated with the Blackboard upgrade
  • Furniture and Equipment Repairs Expense is forecasted lower than budget as a result of the decreased need for equipment repair
  • Major Maintenance Expense is forecasted higher than budget as a result of the costs associated with the construction (bricks and mortar) of the Instructional Building Café and Lounge not being incurred until after April 30th, when the work was actually completed, as opposed to before April 30th,  when the work was originally supposed to be completed
  • Furniture and Equipment Depreciation Expense is forecasted higher than budget because some of items relating to the Instructional Building Café and Lounge were expensed to save some room in the Depreciable Assets Capital Budget to handle the long-term expenses associated with food service expansion over the next couple of years in order to stay viable in the short-term
  • All plans to expense versus depreciate items were made based on guidance from the Finance Department
  • Occupancy and Space Costs are forecasted lower than budget due to a re-evaluation of these charges to Food Service
  • Other Expenses are forecasted lower than budget due to the payment of Blackboard Project costs by St. George

MEAL PLAN RATES

  • Meal Plan rates will increase by a weighted average of 3.1% in 2012-13
  • Chartwells price increases, as per contract, must be less than inflation – the UTM will hold Chartwells to a 3% price increase even though a 3.5% inflation rate is expected

FUND BALANCE

  • The Closing Total Fund Balance is forecasted to be $857,756, which will be sitting in an account to fund future food services growth
  • FOOD SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS FOR 2011/12
    1. Bill reviewed the food service enhancements put in place for the 2011/12 school year
      • Instructional Building Café and Lounge
      • Spigel
        • International Kitchen – 6-week rotational menu with meals/themes representing 30 countries
        • ACTION – Chartwells will have the 6-week rotational menu for the International Kitchen on-line shortly after the date of the meeting
        • East of 60 – Asian stir-fries, Intensive weekly rotational menu, Pho
        • ACTION – Bill agreed to pay for lunch for the Committee at Spigel – the students just needed to select at date that worked for them
    2. The students, in response to the changes at Spigel, suggested that Spigel’s concepts and menus be advertised at Colman Commons so that students know where to get other hot entrées during meal period transitions at Colman
      • The students also wanted to promote Spigel’s concepts and menus at Rez Council meetings and during their tabling hours in the OPH lobby, highlighting the International food choices at Spigel
    3. Bill encouraged the students to communicate the message at Rez Council Meetings that, with any food service issue, they should talk to the Supervisors or Managers at the food service outlets to resolve the issue immediately
  • LONG-TERM FOOD SERVICE PLAN
    1. Bill noted that future food service space will take on a look and feel similar to that of the Instructional Building Café and Lounge
    2. Bill reviewed the changes proposed for the Fall of 2012
      • North Building – May 1st, the North Building section where the cafeteria currently exists will be knocked down and replaced by a tower to open in September 2014 – this new section will contain a food service facility
      • Kaneff Addition – the Kaneff circle will be enclosed with the building of a tower which will include a food service outlet that will be small but appropriate for the space
      • Davis Building Renovation – a comprehensive food court will accompany Student Services space and an expanded Bookstore when the Meeting Place, Old Library, and the existing Registrar’s Office space open up
        • The Food Court will replace the capacity lost by the closing of Spigel Hall and the requirement to move the Booster Juice, On the Go, Second Cup, Pizza Pizza, and Mr. Sub from the Meeting Place
        • This new Food Court will likely contain 7-9 outlets to go along with an expanded full-service Tim Hortons
        • The Food Service Survey from this past spring plus input from 2 Committees to be established will help determine what outlets will be included in the new Food Court
        • Spigel Hall will be turning into Physics Labs
      • Davis Building by CCT – this area will open up and will likely include space for a food service outlet
  • STUDENT FEEDBACK
    1. On-the-Go
      • The students thought that some of the OTG Sandwiches were soggy
        • ACTION – Bill  and Andrea agreed to bring this feedback to Chartwells’ attention for immediate rectification
      • The students loved the fact that Sushi was available as it was a popular and convenient takeout food item
    2. Colman Commons
      • The students mentioned that some of the stations at Colman ran out of stock before the station’s closing time
      • The students provided positive feedback on certain Chartwells employees and Managers at Colman, but raised concerns about others
      • The students identified that Starbucks lids were sometimes out of stock at Colman and requested that the Starbucks stopper sticks be made available at Colman to improve the takeout-ability of hot beverages
      • The students mentioned that the portion sizes at the Culinary station were too big for meat and too small for sides, and also noted one server as giving too small portions in general – Bill iterated that portion size (food cost) is built into the price, but encouraged students to speak with the Supervisor/Manager if they had concerns
      • The students had, on more than one occasion, had issue with the presentation of the bacon (crumpled into balls as opposed to being served in strips)
      • The students were happy with portion sizes at Menutainment
      • The students felt that the fruit prices were too expensive and that the fruit did not look fresh at times
      • The students had a few issues with the soup station – they complained that plain crackers were not always available as an accompaniment to the soup, they wanted to see Italian Wedding Soup in greater rotation, they noticed that the soup and chili often ran out before the end of meal periods or before the end of the day, and they pointed out a soup lid that was broken
        • ACTION – Bill  and Andrea agreed to bring this feedback to Chartwells’ attention for immediate rectification
    3. Instructional Building Café and Lounge
      • The students had generally positive feedback regarding the Instructional Building Café and Lounge
      • There were a few complaints from students about the line-ups at Panini Fresca and about the line-ups at Second Cup between classes
        • Bill informed the students that a second espresso machine was being added
        • The students felt that the Starbucks system of serving drinks and moving the lines was a more efficient system and thought, incorporating such a system at Second Cup would help move the lines better
        • ACTION – Bill  and Andrea agreed to bring this feedback to Chartwells’ attention for immediate rectification
    4. Starbucks
      • The students mentioned that the Library was extremely busy this year, particularly during exam periods
        • ACTION – Bill promised to bring the proposed Hours of Operation for all Food Outlets to the next meeting for review
      • The students asked if Starbucks’ hours of operation on Sunday night could be extended due to the growing number of students going to the Library on Sunday
        • UPDATE – Starbucks closing time has been extended to 8pm and will be re-examined for next semester to determine if a later closing time is warranted
      • The students also asked if Starbucks’ closing time on Saturday could be extended
        • ACTION – The Starbucks closing time on Saturday will be revisited in the New Year
      • The students mentioned that Starbucks sometimes closed 10 to 15 minutes earlier than scheduled
      • The students requested more Starbucks sandwiches to be made available, particularly on weekends and during exams
        • ACTION – Bill  and Andrea agreed to bring this feedback to Chartwells’ attention for immediate rectification
    5. Circuit Break Café
      • The students mentioned that the Circuit Break Café closed before the afternoon class had its break, and they wondered if the closing time of Circuit Break Café could be extended past this break time
        • ACTION – The Circuit Break Café closing time will be revisited in the New Year
  • SHORT-TERM PLAN FOR FALL 2012
    1. Bill reviewed the proposed food service changes proposed for 2012
      • Tim Hortons expansion in the Meeting Place
      • North Building Tim Hortons to be moved into a classroom
      • Small temporary food court in the Meeting Place where the Vending Machines are
      • Adding another concept to Booster Juice
      • Colman Commons expansion
      • UPDATE – The planning for Colman Commons expansion will commence in 2012 but the expansion will not be ready until 2013

 

Next Meeting:       Monday, November 28th at 6:00pm, DV 3138