The Institute Dining Review, based on past studies, public feedback, the Educational Mission of Dining, and the Objectives of Residential Dining, recommended that MIT implement a new, centrally coordinated food system. Following formal approval by the MIT Administration in the spring of 1998, the Review is now overseeing the creation of the system. The new dining system will incorporate all food and beverage providers operating within the campus -- including all catering and vending operations -- under a managed competition model of service delivery.
The Campus Dining Board will serve in an advisory role to the Office of Campus Dining. The Board would consist of 3 students, 3 faculty, 3 staff, a Health Education Officer and and the Director of Campus Dining. The Board will be involved with all major decisions regarding dining services, included but not limited to the following:
On the local level, local oversight groups will oversee and advise different aspects of the dining system (catering, residential dining, etc.). These groups will assist the Board, the Office, and the vendors with the following:
This zoning model was the best the Review found. It allows the two primary vendors to generate enough sales to make the zones attractive propositions to the nation's highest quality providers, while always allowing members of the community to choose between two different vendors.
Expectations of Vendors Contracts with all vendors will include high expectations for performance and management. All vendors must provide customer service training for their employees, particularly in working with students in an educational environment. They will enforce high standards of customer service with their employees. Further, vendors will teach appropriate methods of sanitation, nutrition, food preparation, and hospitality.
Professional development will be strongly encouraged in the new system. By providing training and opportunities for advancement, employees are encouraged to provide the best possible service.
Contractors on campus should be entrepreneurial and manage their operations in the style of a free market. All contractors should attempt to have a chef-manager in charge of operations, as this type of manager is more inclined to run campus dining operations like an actual restaurant or catering business. The "bottom line" is improved by knowledge of customer service and food quality.
The Review recognizes the value that our unique student residence have for the student body and the MIT community. Therefore, the dining program in each residence hall should be structured in cooperation with the residents of that hall to ensure that the dining program is consistent with the hall's particular characteristics and culture.
The Review recognizes that students' freedom of choice is an important aspect of the undergraduate experience at MIT that must be maintained. However, it is neither practical nor feasible to provide all dining options in all halls at all times. Therefore, a full range of residential dining options will be provided system-wide, allowing students freedom to choose a dining program that best meets their particular needs.
Management of Residential Dining. Each residence hall will have a local oversight group. The groups will assist in developing dining programs for their respective houses. In houses centered around personal cooking, the oversight groups will arrange cooking and food purchasing programs, as well as plan catered meals and other related special events for the house. In houses with dining halls, the oversight groups will help the vendor with menu selection, relations with the house, and planning programs and events around the dining hall.
Dining Halls. The following houses will have dining halls: Ashdown House, Baker House, Burton-Conner, MacGregor House, McCormick Hall, and Next House. Baker and Next currently have operating dining halls. McCormick's hall should be reopened by the Fall of 199, and the hall will be a pilot program for the new dining system. MacGregor's hall should also be reopened as soon as possible. Reopening Ashdown and Burton will require substantial renovations, making these longer-term projects.
Dining hall hours will be changed. In general, the halls will serve dinner seven nights a week during 2.5-3 hour time blocks, including during IAP (a few halls would be kept open during the summer, as well). However, dinner will be eliminated in Lobdell to encourage dining in the halls and through community meals. Improvements to Networks and the dining halls will satisfy the remaining need for "quick dinners."
A convenience store (like the one currently operating in MacGregor) will remain open. However, the store probably will be moved to Burton-Conner, since MacGregor probably will not have enough space to accommodate the convenience store and full kitchen facilities.
Finally, Pritchett serve as a dining hall- like facility, providing dinner to residents of East Campus and Senior House. Pritchett is already hosting community meals for East Campus residents.
All dining halls will be open to all students. We realize that issues of security are of serious concern, but we believe that the Office of Campus Dining can work with the dining halls to establish proper security programs.
Support for Personal Cooking. Dining programs will be centered around personal cooking in the following houses: Random, Bexley, East Campus, Senior House, New House, Eastgate, Westgate, Green Hall, Edgerton, and Tang. (Ashdown and Burton will be cooking houses in the short term, as well.) These houses will provide appropriate support for individual cooking, as well as run regular community meals.
Residents in all halls will be provided with convenient and secure kitchens (including some convenience kitchens provided in houses with dining halls). MIT will provide for basic kitchen maintenance in all halls. Day-to-day cleaning tasks will be required, but will vary by house. Halls may choose to have cleaning services contracted out (the cost added to house rents), form a cleaning schedule for students to share cleaning duties, or some combination thereof. The House Managers will be charged with the enforcement of the sanitation and maintenance standards.
Meal Plans. Meal plans will be made available to the MIT community. These plans will offer packages of meals at significant savings over the regular a la carte prices.
To further relieve financial burdens on students, vendors will be required to offer low-priced "value meals." These meals will include an entree, side dishes, and a beverage. They will be full, healthy meals (not "junk food") and will cost under $5.00.
Mandatory, system-wide meal plans will not be implemented. The residents of a house certainly may require meal plans to build a house dining program, however.
We will study the feasibility of mobile food and coffee carts, to provide additional convenience to members of the MIT community.
Additional seating will be added throughout the dining system, especially during lunch. This includes adding seating to Lobdell, renovating Walker Memorial, and adding a new dining facility to the computer science building scheduled to replace Building 20.
Graduate Students. The Muddy Charles Pub will report to the Office of Campus Dining rather than to the Dean of the Graduate School. During the day, it will focus on serving lunch to graduate students.
Ashdown House's dining hall will be used to offer programs for the entire graduate community. One possible program may be a coffeehouse / bake shop, especially in the near term (as fully renovating Ashdown's kitchens is a long term project).
Lobby 7. Pending negotiations with the Undergraduate Association a cafe-like service likely will be placed in Lobby 7.
MIT Club. The new system will include "MIT Club" that combines the services of the old Faculty Club, the services of an Alumni Club, and the services of a catering hall. As such, the Club will serve lunch and dinner to, and provide quality event support for, faculty, staff, alumni, students, and guests of the Institute. The current Faculty Club site has been designated for this purpose.
The new Club will have a local oversight group with representation on the Campus Dining Board and the Alumni Office. The Club will follow the same requirements regarding sanitation, financial solvency, etc. as other dining operations on campus.
Support for Personal Cooking. The new dining system will provide certain personal cooking programs for both on and off campus students. First, MIT will establish programs that allow any student to purchase food at discount prices. It will also set up programs designed to reduce the time it takes students to purchase and prepare meals. In addition, voluntary classes in cooking and nutrition will be offered to the entire campus community.
Variety / Special Dining Needs. Vendors will be required to offer a variety of vegetarian and other foods serving special needs of the community (Kosher, for example).
The following is a tentative schedule for the implementation of the Review's recommendations.
By July 1, 1998: