In mid-November, College President Tony Marx sent a letter to faculty and staff asking all non-academic departments to prepare for budget cuts of five to 10 percent, and he was not all talk.
Upon their return from winter break, students were greeted at their first meal by the budget cuts in action. From taking cereal away at dinner to reducing the size of pizza slices to eliminating the disposable cups, the dining hall has looked near and far to cut its cost. In large part refusing to lower the quality of the food, the dining hall has instead reduced the frequency of a number of items, decreased portion sizes, and in some cases, cut items entirely, resulting in approved savings of roughly $140,000.
“A lot of what we’re doing, in honesty, is a trial,” said Dining Services Director Charlie Thompson, with a five-page spreadsheet of potential cost-cutting measures on his lap. “We need to show a savings, but I can’t say emphatically that this won’t be tweaked.”
Over winter break, Thompson went before an administrative committee with that five-page spreadsheet. The most extreme cost-cutting measures, such as reducing the hours of the dining hall or Schwemm’s were cast aside. However three pages of suggestions were approved and have been, or will soon be, implemented.
The most observant eaters may notice a change the next time they eat a hamburger. Valentine has switched from 4 ounce to 3.2 ounce burgers, resulting in a half year savings of $5,500. Others may note that the Valentine Extra announcements have dissipated—the once daily special will now be a weekly occurrence. And fruit-lovers may be saddened by the absence of the mixed fruit salad at lunch. Since being introduced last year, the fruit salad had been served at five lunches a week, but it will now be reduced to just two, resulting in roughly $29,000 in savings over the course of a full school year.
The Dining Hall is prepared to make 10 to even 15 percent budget cuts for next year, as the College grapples with an endowment that has lost nearly 25 percent since the start of the fiscal year. For now, it is aiming to cut its second semester budget by five percent, which would amount to $190,000. This comes on the heels of a first semester in which dining services was $100,000 over budget.
According to Thompson, he has received the most complaints regarding the absence of cereal at dinner and disposable cups in general. He estimates that the cereal alone may account for $16,000 in yearly savings, though it is difficult to tell what students will eat in place of the cereal, and thus if these savings will actually be met. Like many of the cost-cutting moves, the decision to eliminate cereal at dinner was made after speaking with employees working on the floor, who agreed that cereal was the item least eaten at dinner.
As for the cups, Thompson said students previously used 13,000 hot cups a week and 10,000 clear cold beverages per week. By completely eliminating them, the dining hall is saving $35,000 a year. Another option that would have saved considerable cash, according to Thompson, was to seemingly go backwards in College policy and start making non-biodegradable cups available. However, that option was quickly ruled out. Thompson encourages students to fill-up their own, reusable thermal mugs, and said the College might even sell some for no net profit. “I’d rather give up a little convenience and help the environment, then have to look at cutbacks for food,” Thompson said.
However, that’s not to say that food selection will not be reduced. Cottage cheese will now only be offered at lunch and apple sauce at dinner; both had previously been offered at every meal. The cut in cottage cheese may reap up to $9,300 in savings. Hot dogs and veggie dogs, previously offered at every lunch and dinner, will now only be available when hamburgers are served, resulting in an estimated savings of $7,000. And across the board, from lasagna to salmon, serving sizes will be reduced.
This reduction of both cottage cheese and applesauce angered Leigh Harris ’10.
“I like to eat cottage cheese and applesauce mixed together,” said Harris. “But when cottage cheese is only available at lunch and applesauce only at dinner, this becomes rather difficult.”
The dining hall is also cutting costs away from the food. It is no longer going to provide hand sanitizer at the entrance to the dining hall, saving $2,000 a year, and it is cutting back on part-time labor hours, by having workers come in part-way through a meal, when the dining hall becomes more crowded.
Despite the inconvenience caused by the changes, many students understand that the alterations are necessary for the College to weather the financial crisis, said Spanish Teaching Assistant Blanca Hernández Martín.
“I miss the disposable cups so much,” Hernández Martín said. “I used to get a tea to go many days in the morning, and now I have to drink it in two seconds — and it’s very hot — not to be late for class. [However,] I think very often we were throwing many of [the cups] away without need. I guess that being so many people even if each cup is cheap, the total must be pretty big.”
However, other students believe that the College should direct more funds to Valentine rather than other events that do not affect the campus as a whole.
“I wish they would use other money for Valentine, like the spring concert,” Jorge Alvarado ’12 reasoned. “It’s not a waste of money, but it could used for something for the good for all the campus. I think they should allocate more money to Valentine by taking away from other places that don’t really need that much.”
“It’s a time when students have to be open to some sort of lifestyle changes,” said Association of Amherst Students (AAS) President Nick Pastan ’09, who was encouraged by Thompson’s willingness to negotiate the existing changes. To that end, the AAS will host a forum Monday night at seven, with Thompson along with Dean of Students Ben Lieber and Director of Facilities Jim Brassord, to share information pertaining to the Valentine budget reductions, and get student sugggestions.
“It’s a precarious balance—how do you best serve the students in a time like this?” said Pastan. Adding, “I hope students understand that some things are going to have to change and that they rise to the occasion.”