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Locally sourced foods, micro-restaurants & major renovations, an improved dining experience is coming to #FSU! http://fla.st/2lw0rm4 pic.twitter.com/IIPLpx22G7
Celebrity chef and Florida State University alumnus Art Smith will serve as campus Culinary Ambassador as part of the agreement.
“We’re excited about our new relationship and thrilled to bring Chef Smith, one of our most successful grads, back to Florida State to enhance the overall dining experience for our students and the entire campus community,” said FSU President John Thrasher.
Worth more than $173 million over 10 years, the contract unites multiple dining and food programs, including residential, retail, concessions, catering and even mobile dining via food trucks and delivery. Other terms include internships and scholarships for students, funding for sustainability initiatives, meal plans for students and in-kind contributions for university events. FSU will become one of Sodexo’s marquee accounts.
“I’m very proud of this agreement. Dining is obviously integral to student success, and by extension, the university’s efforts to reach the Top 25,” said Kyle Clark, vice president for Finance and Administration. “I expect Florida State to become one of the top dining programs in the country.”
Sodexo will assume operations this summer, prior to the start of the fall semester. Current meal plans and rates will remain the same with no cost increases to students, faculty or staff and no interruptions in campus food and meal services.
“Sodexo and Florida State University are a strong match. We share a vision for the highest levels of service and innovation,” said Jim Jenkins, CEO Sodexo Universities East. “This partnership will expand FSU’s reputation as a leader in enrollment, retention and student satisfaction through our quality of life services. Our team is looking forward to getting started.”
Sodexo delivers more than 100 services across North America that enhance organizational performance, contribute to local communities and improve quality of life. The Fortune Global 500 company is a leader in delivering sustainable, integrated facilities management and food service operations.
Sodexo currently services a number of universities nationally including Georgia Tech, the University of South Carolina, Liberty University, Northwestern University and the College of William & Mary. Liberty’s main dining facility is currently the No. 1-ranked dining facility in the country, according to BestColleges.com.
The agreement was signed after a comprehensive review process that focused on improving the overall quality of the dining experience at Florida State. A committee of students, faculty and staff, including current Student Body President Nathan Molina, unanimously selected Sodexo with input from a dozen technical advisers and feedback from students and employees across campus.
“Students want more healthy options on campus, especially our students with specific dietary needs, and so that’s an area we put a lot on focus on during our review,” Molina said. “This new partnership will significantly increase the healthy options and alternatives available, and it will generate a lot of excitement and enthusiasm about eating on campus that doesn’t exist today.”
The new contract will retain many of the popular elements of the university’s current dining programs while adding a number of new features to transform the campus dining experience. The company will hold a series of informational town hall meetings in the coming weeks to answer questions and offer a sneak peek at what the future holds at Florida State.
The new contract will bring more culinary executive chefs to campus dining locations. In addition to healthy options, chefs will specialize in nutritious “Better from Scratch” homemade selections using local and regional foods and ingredients.
Campus residents and visitors will also find a wide selection of micro-restaurants that take the culinary experience at FSU to new levels of excellence. Sodexo will help launch the first of Florida State’s new micro-restaurant facilities, “1851,” on Jefferson Street this fall followed by other facilities during the next 10 years.
The university’s current provider employs nearly 1,000 full- and part-time staff at FSU, including a number of student employees. All current employees will be encouraged to apply for positions with Sodexo, which anticipates hiring the majority of existing employees and expects to hire additional staff, including more culinary trained professionals.
As culinary ambassador of Florida State University, Smith will make “healthy comfort cuisine” readily available across campus and will serve as liaison between the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Fresh from Florida program and Sodexo’s Floridian Flavors program.
Smith has received the culinary profession’s highest awards and has cooked for some of the world’s most famous celebrities. In 1997, Smith became the personal, day-to-day chef to Oprah Winfrey, a position he held for 10 years. Smith is executive chef and co-owner of restaurants in Chicago, Atlanta, Orlando and Washington, D.C.
For more information on the Seminole Dining Services transition, visit http://diningtransition.fsu.edu/.
Students, faculty and staff seeking healthier eating options at Florida State University should expect to see a transformation in their on campus menu as part of a more than $173 million deal with food service giant Sodexo.
On Wednesday, the university announced to its board of trustees the signing of a 10-year dining services contract with industry giant Sodexo that will impact food service operations on campus and at Doak Campbell and Dick Howser stadiums.
The contract with Sodexo is valued at more than $173 million over the next 10 years. FSU’s transition to Sodexo from its current vendor, Aramark, becomes official this summer. Under Aramark, FSU earned more than $74 million over the past 15 years.
Aramark’s 1,000 full and part-time employees are expected to find jobs with the new company.
“We’re excited about our new relationship and thrilled to bring Chef Smith, one of our most successful grads, back to Florida State to enhance the overall dining experience for our students and the entire campus community,” FSU President John Thrasher said.
FSU Student Body President Nathan Molina said Sodexo is following up on what many students have been requesting.
“The companies were very forward in listening to students,” Molina said of the four companies in the bidding process. “Students wanted more dynamic dining changes at the university and that’s what we are getting with this contract.
“There was a very specific interest in having more vegan and vegetarian options more available.”
Universities across the country are investing in campus dining and meeting the needs of changing student demands as part of the total effort in recruiting, retaining and keeping students campus-focused in efforts to boost graduation rates.
“I’m very proud of this agreement,” said Kyle Clark, FSU’s vice president for finance and administration. “Dining is obviously integral to student success, and by extension, the university’s efforts to reach the Top 25.
“I expect Florida State to become one of the top dining programs in the country.”
Food service is a huge operation at FSU, with 41,000 students, including 6,000 living on campus. Income from its more than 26 campus eateries, athletic dining hall and athletic concessions brings in about $31 million annually.
But what will change is a gradual transformation of each dining facility:
The Suwannee Room, located in the middle of campus and serving “thousands” of meals daily, will be renovated with a focus on sustainability, health and wellness.
Sodexo envisions transforming it into a 24/7 operation featuring Florida products and dishes with high-tech kiosk ordering systems and table tracking technology for late-night orders. Meals can be ordered to diners' requests and then taken directly to the table when ready.
Students also will have direct access to nutritionists.
The Fresh Food Company, another large dining hall located across from the College of Medicine, will be redesigned and become the “Seminole Test Kitchen” or “STK.
Inside, it will offer:
- Floridian Flavors (focusing on Florida-based menus)
- The Greenery (locally grown greens and salads)
- Fishery (offering fresh Florida seafood)
- Creating Your Own Station (offering individual choice selections)
- The Butchery (grilled foods)
- A bakery.
Students would be given the opportunity to taste new items created by Smith and other chefs working on and off campus. Students could vote for favorites, and those dishes would return and appear at other dining facilities across campus.
A new addition to the Suwannee and Fresh Food Company is “1851”, the first of several planned “micro-restaurants” opening this fall.
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