Recently, Pipe Dream’s Editorial Board published a piece surrounding the controversy with Sodexo and the switch to Chartwells Higher Education for dining services. In this column, I aim to build on this editorial and raise concerns on Chartwells and the fact that merely switching to another corporate dining provider will not provide positive change.
On Feb. 19, Binghamton University announced that it would not renew its contract with Sodexo and that it had selected Chartwells Higher Education as its new campus dining partner under a 10-year contract starting on June 1.
Sodexo had been a long-running partner with the University, providing dining services for over 40 years. However, it was widely disliked by students and staff alike, not only because of issues in the Binghamton University dining halls but also due to scandals elsewhere.
Since Oct. 23, 2020, Sodexo has received citations at seven of eight health inspections, including five “critical” violations like the presence of rodents and insects at the Hinman Dining Center. Along with these violations, many students have complained about the overall poor quality of food and its affordability. This has been exemplified by town hall meetings led by the Young Democratic Socialists of America on those issues and by the Student Association Congress passing a resolution for expanded options and greater transparency regarding allergens.
Building off the March 16 editorial, although moving on from Sodexo to a new dining provider may seem like a step in the right direction, Sodexo’s troubles are bound to recur with Chartwells. Halting the partnership with Sodexo is a beneficial development, but there are better options out there.
The main issue with higher education dining is that the three most popular dining providers — Sodexo, Aramark and Compass Group, with the latter being the parent company of Chartwells — share similar problems. While they may differ in the quality of their food and operations, they all provide food to hundreds of institutions. Moving from one corporate food management company to another may bring some small, short-term changes, but it won’t completely resolve major, long-lasting issues.
Chartwells, in particular, is no stranger to similar controversies regarding customer service and treatment of workers. For instance, Compass Group had a horse meat scandal in 2013, with their own tests finding “a minor amount of horse DNA” in products sold as beef. Then, in 2014, Connecticut high school students found mold, human hair and undercooked meat in food provided by Chartwells, causing a boycott of school lunches.
In addition to complaints about unsanitary and unappealing food, Chartwells has gained a reputation for overcharging customers. This has even led to lawsuits, including a $19 million settlement in 2015 claiming they overcharged meals in D.C. public schools and an $18 million settlement in 2012 with New York state over claims of overcharging in 39 school districts.
Students at other universities that receive food from Chartwells, like Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Quinnipiac University and Oakland University, have expressed disapproval toward Chartwells’s poor service and underfeeding students. University students have shared similar sentiments toward Sodexo, with some claiming a “stealing fee” exists in the membership fee of the dining hall meal plans.
At Pace University, which partners with Chartwells Higher Education, many students have grown upset with the dining practices, leading to a petition posted on Change.org that claims a limited food selection and rising prices despite no improvement in food quality. These are the exact complaints University students had with Sodexo that encouraged the switch.
As mentioned above, Chartwells and Sodexo are not the only companies that have these issues. The main problem lies in sourcing our food from a large corporation that also serves hundreds of other educational institutions, which is one of the primary drivers of ultra-processed foods and unsanitary operations.
The best solution to this is to locally source foods. The University of Massachusetts Amherst, one of the top universities for dining, sources food from nearby regional producers. Other colleges nearby in upstate New York, such as Syracuse University and Cornell University, use local farms and their own operations to support their dining services. Changes like this would address student concerns while simultaneously supporting local businesses and farms.
Beyond offering a greater variety of options, local farms can reduce travel distance and increase food freshness, alleviating concerns about taste and quality. This is emphasized by universities that practice this, such as the University of Rochester and Syracuse University. These changes can also make healthier food choices more accessible, another frequent complaint from students.
Although making major changes to the dining system may not be very feasible right now, the switch to Chartwells will not necessarily address student complaints. In addition to many poor treatments of workers and scandals, the overall service students will receive will mirror common troubles with Sodexo.
Chartwells is expected to take the role as the main dining provider for most students at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year. Only time will tell how much of an improvement the change will make, but its similar history to Sodexo is not a good sign of drastic progress.
Henry Brandler is a freshman double-majoring in cinema and economics.
Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the staff editorial.