The Corporation said the move will help keep Campus Dining costs down — as meal plan prices continue to rise.
The Cal Poly Corporation has announced it will hand over Campus Dining’s daily operations to Chartwells Higher Education Group — an international food service provider — beginning July 1.
The goal of the switch, according to information Cal Poly Corporation provided to ASI Student Government, is to prevent Campus Dining from having to raise food prices by an additional 10% — even though meal plan prices will still increase 8-9% between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
Once the switch is made, all Campus Dining employees will become private Chartwells employees.
Staff received a notice that their employment with Campus Dining would technically end on June 30, but all employees, including student staff, have been offered to stay on as Chartwells employees starting July 1, according to Campus Dining spokesperson Aaron Lambert.
Lambert added that Chartwells plans to bring on more full-time staff, but “the number of roles for student employees will stay the same next academic year.”
The company originally partnered with Campus Dining in 2017, when Chartwells started to provide “management and consulting services.” Since 2017, Chartwells has been able to hire Campus Dining’s director and one executive chef.
Cal Poly Corporation will still have full control over Campus Dining’s menu and will “continue to lead the short- and long-term program decisions,” according to a news release.
Chartwells Higher Education provides management for dining programs at more than 300 universities across the country and also operates in Canada and the United Kingdom.
The private company has more than 10,000 employees and $3.4 billion in estimated annual revenue, according to Rocket Reach, Kona Equity and several other statistics websites.
“I am hopeful that Chartwells is going to come in and bring some resources and ideas,” co-chair of Cal Poly’s Campus Dining Advisory Committee Jo Campbell said. “I’m excited to see what they bring to the table.”
Although Cal Poly Corporation consulted its Board of Directors before making this decision, ASI Board of Directors member Alexandria Raynes expressed frustration that Cal Poly Corporation didn’t give students or ASI Student Government a chance for input.
“I just want to know why they didn’t consult the greater campus community,” Raynes said.
Are you a Campus Dining employee affected by this decision? Contact cgpressl@calpoly.edu to help our ongoing reporting.