Sodexo’s contract with Weber State Dining Services is up for renewal this July after 10 years of cooperation. Sodexo began their contract at Weber State University in 2007 as the sole provider for dining services at the University.

A new candidate will be selected before July 1, when the new contract goes into effect.

Weber State is currently in the RFP (request for proposal) process of finding a dining services provider. The details of the process are confidential, according to Nancy Emenger, the Director of Purchasing at WSU.

“Nobody on the committee is allowed to talk about the decision process,” Emenger said.

Although the details regarding candidate selection are private, the length of the future contract is not. The new contract will mostly likely last five years, followed by three one-year renewals.

The renewal of this contract will directly affect students and faculty who use campus facilities. In the event that Weber State changes food providers, there may be changes in campus restaurants and campus catering options. Sodexo is the sole provider of food on campus. If another organization caters on campus, that organization must first go through Sodexo for an exception.

There is no question of the importance of food options on campus to those who use the dining services. “Faculty, students and administrators are concerned about dining on campus,” Dr. Luke Fernandez, a member of the Dining Services Committee said.

Some students have concerns about the current price of the food offered. Ethan Bracken, a sophomore at WSU said, “Price is a problem when it comes to getting healthy options that aren’t horrible in texture or taste.”

Jonathan Chantry agrees:

“The price is always 1.5 times, sometimes even double what it is elsewhere,”

Bracken and Chantry are not the only students on campus who feel that Sodexo’s prices are too high. Erin Dominguez is a student leader on campus who has worked with Sodexo on catering several events. As an event organizer, she also believes that the prices are too steep.

Although she said she has no problems with the food options offered in the restaurants on campus, she explained that she doesn’t like working with them when it comes to catering. “There are a lot of unnecessary rules in place which make hosting events difficult,” Dominguez said.

One student, A.J. Fewkes, said that he eats frequently on campus. “They provide a service that’s really quite convenient,” Fewkes said.