JAINA BERARDI
Special to The Leader
Since planning began for the Fall 2022 semester, the Faculty Student Association has been making many changes and updates to the food systems and offerings on Fredonia’s campus.
In the wake of Blue Devil Grill’s closing, several options from their menu have been transferred to other locations. In addition, FSA has updated many of their recipes out of courtesy to students with dietary restrictions, and students can now use QR codes to give feedback about these changes.
Dean Messina, FSA director of dining services, explained the reason for the closing of Blue Devil Grill was that “the money was just not there” anymore.
The decrease in enrollment in recent years has taken a heavy financial toll on the school, which has subsequently led to FSA’s closure of both Blue Devil Grill and Tim Hortons on campus.
According to Felicia Nowak, Willy C’s dining services manager, the closing of Blue Devil Grill has not caused any issues with the dining services at Willy C’s, and she said she has not received any complaints from students.
Messina said the consolidation could be going so smoothly because a lot of the Mexican foods that used to be served at Blue Devil Grill were moved into the taco bar at Cranston Marche. Many of the Italian and Mediterranean dishes are available periodically at Cranston as specials.
In addition to food concerns, recently there have been issues regarding cross contamination occurring within Cranston.
“I know nothing is ever perfect when you’re handling all types of food, but I am not aware of any circumstances of any cross contamination,” said Darin Schulz, executive director of FSA.
Schulz confirmed that all employees of FSA go through the same food handling and safety training when they are hired and once every year as reinforcement training.
Messina said that FSA’s management team “[works] to follow all food service guidelines [required by] by the Chautauqua County Health Department.” They get recertification permits every three years and often reiterate to their staff on a regular basis to “change their gloves and wash their hands.” However, Schulz acknowledged that mistakes are going to happen, as “we are all human.”
This semester, Cranston Marche has started working towards becoming tree nut and peanut free.
“Unless someone has a specific need or request, we are not carrying tree nut or peanut products at Cranston Marche, with the exception of the personal consumption peanut butters,” Schulz said. As of right now, Messina said that Cranston Marche is 97% tree nut free.
At the beginning of the semester, the team at Cranston Marche revisited each recipe that is served there and altered them with customers’ food allergies in mind. For example, the vegan mac n’ cheese was previously made with almond milk, so they revised the recipe to include a different cream base that is nut-free to further achieve this goal.
One of the other noticeable changes from FSA is the recent addition of QR code surveys that can be found in Willy C’s and Cranston Marche. Katie Thies, FSA’s special programs manager, said the QR codes intend to be a “virtual comment card” for customers to give feedback. The QR code surveys will remain live all semester and are checked on a weekly basis.
In addition to the QR codes, FSA will soon be sending out a feedback survey in January through the National Association for College and University Food Service. Thies said the survey will give students the opportunity to provide feedback on the “menu options, cleanliness and sustainability” at all FSA dining locations on campus.
With these new implementations and improvements, FSA is hopeful that the slew of changes will overall improve students dining experiences on campus.