The Rising Cost of Meal Plans with Kevin Gilligan

Join Sarah Holtan, PhD in this episode as she dives into the complex world of rising food prices and their impact on college campuses with Kevin Gilligan, the District Manager at Sodexo. Discover why food prices are on the rise, with factors such as labor, transportation, and supply chain expenses contributing to the challenge. While East Coast schools have faced more difficulties, students everywhere are feeling the effects of increasing food costs. Explore strategies to keep costs down, including student involvement in budget creation and the use of reusable containers. Learn about innovative initiatives implemented by Sodexo, such as reusable to-go containers, pizza ATMs, and salad robots, designed to save costs and reduce waste. Tune in to understand the importance of partnerships with food banks to repurpose excess food and tackle food waste. Learn about the challenges of retaining talent in the post-COVID labor market and the importance of fair wages for employees. Discover the vital role campus dining services play in student life and the need for a supportive and inclusive environment when you listen to this episode.Episode Highlights:11:06 - Where we're most successful is letting the students tell us what they value and working from there. Our best ideas come from our student groups and just think of a particular one, cost savings. There's a lot of technology out there now–pizza ATMs, where you can have 40 or 50 pizzas in a vending machine that a student can walk up. It'll cook it to order, box it, and put it out for them.15:59 - The food waste that you speak of the buffet, as long as our team is monitoring it, it can still be used. So, we capture that and while we can't necessarily serve it per company standards, we can cool it properly or keep it cold if it's from like a salad bar, and we can repurpose that food with this group. So, we donate the food. They're able to then repackage it and help with Meals on Wheels and different food banks.17:58 - Wages are closer to 20% increase. That's a real cost. Let's say a cook is making $20 an hour and we give them a 20% increase. Where does that money come from? Where is that $4 coming from? It's got to go into the cost of the overall program.Contact Sarah Holtan, PhDLinkedInWebsiteKevin GilliganLinkedInEmailWebsite