Sodexo continues to work as best as they can to provide the best food and service to students for all meals of the day, every day. We all have seen an increase in the quality of food, but the speed of service during meals and where to find what you want seems to worry students.  

 “It takes longer to get food and drinks, and it’s also harder to find everything,” says sophomore, Hannah Reno. 

When walking into the serve, you probably have to go once around to find everything. Of course, while things like the salad bar and grill are quite noticeable, you have to look around to see what else they have. This leads to students wandering a bit and straying from the lines.  

The confusion and slow service come from the lack of employment Sodexo currently has. Sodexo tries the best they can to work quickly and efficiently for students during any meal hour.  

While it may take a long time to get a sandwich or slice of pizza, it’s hard to effectively serve hundreds of students with a limited amount of staff in a specific amount of time. If you are in a hurry, problem solve; don’t rely on people to do everything for you. Take something from your room or make something on the go that can make it easier on you. I understand that you may be spending thousands of dollars on the meals, but you do have that option to change your meal plan if you feel you do not have time to make it during the times available or have time to wait in the lines when it is busy.  

Freshman Brenna Horkey believes we should be patient with Sodexo as well.   

“The flow is slow right now, but they are understaffed, and I think we have to take that into consideration. As of now everything is nice, because everything goes in a cycle, everyone exits and enters at the same place,” Horkey says.  

As students, we must empathize with the staff working overtime to make everyone happy. We have to be positive and understand that improvement of the serve will come with our patience. Blaming Sodexo for the flow of the serve is not necessarily anyone’s fault. Students, staff, and faculty are all hungry too, and we all happen to have the same breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours occasionally. We have to accommodate one another as well.  

According to junior, Daniel Walker, who works for Sodexo, the new improvements are actually doing quite well, despite the fact that it’s slowing down the rate at which the workers work.  Students just have to learn the new environment. 

“I think the serve’s service has slowed down due to its space decreasing. As opposed to having to walk from the old grill to the main lines as it used to be, everything has been compacted to this small place, so the spaces used to cook the food is smaller. I feel like if students could remember that with all of the new stuff going on, there’s going to be a learning curve of the most efficient way to use the new space. This was something that we had to work on even with the bigger space, so it’s just that now the problem is more noticeable.”  

Yes, we have a concern for the flow of the serve, but maybe it could be the size of the serve? Will it truly be efficient for students if Buena Vista University wants to increase enrollment over the years?  Whether it is the new serve being too small or tight in space to get around or the old serve not having great food, it seems there is no pleasing everyone, but we can try to adjust how we react. Things are just starting out and hopefully, the serve will prove to fully live up to its expectations. With that being said, next time you are in the serve, thank the Sodexo staff for making the food you eat or working hard to please you.