The Colegio Blogporter

Cafeteria Confusion

By: Leah Greve

Metropolitan Food Services Inc. welcoming students and university personnel into the cafeteria on the second floor of the student center at the Mayagüez campus of the University of Puerto Rico.

Recently, Sodexo, a privatized multi-national catering and food service franchise abandon its post in the student center of the University of Puerto Rico- Mayagüez campus (UPRM).  Replacing Sodexo is, former food provider at the UPRM, Metropolitan Food Service Inc., another multi-national food catering company.

According to recent complaints by the student body and campus personnel, Sodexo, over the past two years has lowered its food quality while raising its prices. In fact, during the past 2010-2011 academic year, the campus cafeteria was closed because of hygiene issues involving infestations of rats and cockroaches. In response to this many students unsuccessfully attempted to boycott Sodexo by bringing in homemade food to sell outside the cafeteria.

But UPRM is not the only client of Sodexo that has received terrible service. There is a long list of institutions complaining about how corrupt the company is.

Nevertheless, in 2008, the chancellor of UPRM, Jorge Iván Vélez Arocho, signed a five-year contract with Sodexo that states the university only receives two percent of the financial earnings every four months while having to pay all the cafeterias expenses. Students aware of this contract went on a local radio station (WKAQ) to denounce the privatized company by stating that while the university only receives around $54,000 every four months, while paying for additional expenses, Sodexo gains a total of $2 million.

Therefore Metropolitan food services inc. on replacing Sodexo reopened the main cafeteria on the second floor of the student center on the 21sth of March and on the 23^rd of March the lower cafeteria re-opened as well offering service to hungry students.  Upon arriving Metropolitan, also promised a 10 to 20 percent reduction on the prices of most popular foods as well as offering catering services to the outer buildings of the university.

In an interview with a Graduate student from the UPRM, Ana Ramos, she questioned what might happen to the former employees of Sodexo that worked at the cafeteria. Apparently Metropolitan Food Services Inc. is retaining many of the past employees for the reason of sympathetic understanding of economic problems with some employee’s families and difficulties of employment these days.

On the other hand, in a additional interview with a Political Science Professor, who wishes to remain anonymous, he recalls when Metropolitan was originally providing food service for the university in 2007 and stated how the university replaced Metropolitan Food Service inc. for almost the same reasons they are replacing Sodexo now, high prices and low food quality.

On replacing Sodexo, Metropolitan Food service inc. hopes to satisfy the university community by serving higher quality food at cheaper prices with better service.