The Market at Alvin’s expanded its meal trade options and snack choices this semester.
Chartwells, the campus food service provider, conducted a survey last semester asking students what improvements could be made to the Caf and Alvin’s.
The top three responses they received from the survey were variety of food selections, value for price and availability of healthy options, according to a sign Chartwells put in Alvin’s.
Supervisor Mina Thompson said their solutions for these responses are ready-to-eat options, four meal deal bundle options, and more healthy meal and snack options.
“It replaces the old, grab-and-go meal plan,” Thompson said. “The students requested more variety and more healthy snacks. They got a better choice of salad, sandwiches, wraps, fruit cups, and dessert cups, more leaning towards the healthy side.”
Alvin’s now allows meal trades, points normally used for the Caf or Chick-fil-A, for frozen entrees and oatmeal. Students also can get fruit or granola bars as sides when they trade for a sandwich or salad, said Carlos Sanchez, English senior and The Market at Alvin’s employee.
The survey was conducted because Chartwells is fairly new on campus, Sanchez said. Chartwells replaced Sodexo as the main food supplier of the university in July, according to Student Publications archives.
“They were trying to get a scope on how everyone was liking everything,” he said.
Sanchez said there is a better selection of entrees in the meal trade system as well.
“There’s a couple of new items in the typical meal trade. We have more wraps and more salads,” Sanchez said. “They all look better quality.”
Customers often choose the new options for breakfast or after-hours meals, Sanchez said. The meal trades are unavailable on weekends.
Students have been enjoying the new meal trade options, Thompson said.
“They love this better than the old one. They prefer this one,” she said.
Sanchez said he has noticed trends in what students are buying.
“So far, a lot of people have been choosing the non-sandwich options. I’ve noticed a lot of people coming in for the oatmeal in the mornings or the frozen meals late at night,” Sanchez said.
The survey was accessible to students for much of the semester.
Liv Story, acting freshman, said a woman passed around an iPad for students to take the survey during breakfast. Tables with iPads outside the Caf and Alvin’s had promotions for the survey, Sanchez said.
Story said she noticed and appreciates officials’ response to the survey.
“I wanted more meal options, that way I could get something for a breakfast or for a different lunch option, so that’s what I needed,” Story said.
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