For Penn Dining, the opportunity to link with professional services giant Aramark six years ago was supposed to bring much-needed improvements to the University's dining services.
According to Penn officials, it has.
But recently, questions have arisen about Aramark's role at Penn, following reports of conflicts between the company and similar institutions.
Aramark, a publicly owned company headquartered in Philadelphia, was hired in 2002 to be the sole manager of the University's three residential dining halls and several on-campus retail dining locations such as Houston Hall.
That was a task it was deemed well suited for, given its experience managing dining services at 400 colleges and universities nationwide.
The University and Aramark are now in the fifth year of a 10-year contract they agreed to in 2003.
Aramark has been responsible for the hiring of new managers at the dining halls and projects such as the addition of the 1920 Commons food court, as well as the increased selection at Houston Market.
So far, "Penn Dining is pleased with the services Aramark has provided," said Barbara Lea-Kruger, spokeswoman for Penn's Business Services Department.
However, Yale University, recently cut ties with Aramark after 10 years of dining-hall management by the company.
According to the Yale Daily News, university officials claim the decision was made simply because Yale "can now manage the University's food operations on its own" without the aid of an outside company.
But reports also indicated that some felt dissatisfied with the job Aramark was doing, holding the company responsible for food shortages at the dining halls as well as high turnover of dining-hall managers.
Philadelphia public schools have also been disappointed with Aramark, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, since the company has not accomplished its goal of eliminating an $3.5 million annual operating-budget deficit that exists within the district.
Lea-Kruger insists, though, that Penn has a strong relationship with Aramark, which Dining Services "actively manages," she said.
But despite claims that the two are integral partners, many changes, such as menu revisions, are "made internally by Aramark," said Michael Briggs, Food Services Director at Hill and Kings Court/English College Houses.
In fact, many changes are made without any direct consultation from Penn Dining. Rather, it is the joint decisions of dining hall managers and student feedback directly to Aramark that are determining factors, Briggs said.
Penn Dining provides meal plans to all freshmen and over 2,000 upperclassmen.
