It’s time to replace Dartmouth Dining Services. Campus is rife with complaints about dining, but few effective remedies have been proposed. There is a simple, proven way for the College to vastly increase food quality and lower costs: bring in an external food provider and ditch DDS. Will it work? Duke University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wellesley College are some peer schools with external providers. External providers dominate every major ranking of college food, and these providers cater not only to universities, but also to companies famous for their high quality of life, like Google, Oracle and Twitter. Dartmouth needs a culinary savior, and an external provider is the answer.
First, there is intense competition among external providers, and we could be the beneficiaries. From 1999-2002, the external provider Bon Appetit Management Company served Penn. Penn students were not completely satisfied so they switched to a different provider, Aramark. In 2009, Bon Appetit won back the Penn contract. DDS is a monopoly, and monopolies rarely innovate because competition drives innovation. By introducing competition, we can make sure that DDS cares about our satisfaction. When I spoke with representatives from two of the best external providers, Bon Appetit and AVI, they highlighted the most important difference between them and internal providers like DDS. For external providers, innovation is not optional. If they don’t innovate and deliver, they die. If DDS does not innovate and deliver, it is targeted in another angry op-ed. The stakes are different, and, therefore, so is the quality of service. Bon Appetit and AVI Food Systems have food trucks at multiple locations so we could have options like The Box on our dining plan. The external providers also allow spending dining credit at local restaurants. Schools like the Washington University in St. Louis even offered free delivery from campus dining halls. It’s incredible what healthy competition can deliver, and we should not settle for less.
Second, this is the perfect time to make the change. Our campus is incredibly divided because we constantly talk about deeply polarizing issues. How do you foster a better climate? The best way to reach consensus on hard issues is to start small with issues we can agree on. Many students agree that DDS is not satisfactory, so let’s come together and change something to build trust and capital for other important topics at hand.
Finally, Dartmouth today feels stagnant. Applications took a tumble. Rankings will likely follow. We are plagued by negative news coverage. It’s time to make changes in areas where we can make an immediate difference. We need to stop being crisis-driven and take initiative. Trying to reform DDS is like rearranging chairs on a sinking ship. Monopolies aren’t geared to provide value, so reforms are bound to fail or under-deliver. What we really need is a healthy dose of competition.
Here is what you can do to help. First, DDS reports to Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson, so write her a note requesting change. I, for one, have faith in the administration’s ability to treat a rational and realistic proposal with respect. Second, let’s start a student exploratory group on dining and invite external providers to present to us. We don’t have to wait for administrative approval to explore our options. This is our school, and we are the ones stuck with bad service. Armed with proposals from the best providers, we can make informed demands for change.
Now, you may disagree with me that the food at Dartmouth is bad. You may even think it is good. That is irrelevant because the right question to ask is: Can it be better and at a lower cost? So far, there has been too much talk and too little action. Change must be felt to be believed. Let’s start with dining and institute reform that will affect — quite literally — every single student on campus.
