This past Thursday, the Student Culinary Council (SCC) gathered in the Chenango Room to discuss updates for the 10-year Sodexo contract and other food developments on campus.

Binghamton University is in the process of finalizing details with Sodexo for the decade-long contract. Peter Napolitano, the director of auxiliary services at BU, said the administration is in the last stage of finalizing the contract.

“We’re in the final phases,” Napolitano said. “Sodexo is giving us a generous offer to support students in a nutritious, healthy and safe manner. We’re looking forward to building a relationship with them.”

Napolitano said that putting an emphasis on student voices would lead to further improving food options on campus. Mitchell LaRosa, president of the SCC and a sophomore majoring in history, said he agreed that the student body has power to make a big difference in the food industry at BU.

“We have a great say and this is a very important time for us to voice our ideas,” LaRosa said. “We need our voices to be heard, and Sodexo is very open to it.”

E-Board members of the SCC also suggested ideas for community dining hall improvements, like implementing breakfast-for-dinner nights and halal stations.

Jim Ruoff, the general manager of Sodexo Campus Services at Binghamton, announced that the College-in-the-Woods Dining Hall will open at 7:30 a.m. for breakfast and will be handing out free water bottles to students on Parade Day, hoping to fill their stomachs before heading Downtown.

Ruoff also said Sodexo is still investigating cage-free egg options but is not pushing the decision to be made immediately. He stressed that student input could heavily influence Sodexo’s decision.

“The students’ relationship with Sodexo is just as important as Sodexo’s relationship with the University,” Ruoff said. “A little bit of initiative, ideas and a little money, and we can make a huge difference.”