How many times have you been to your favorite fast food spot and they were out of your favorite item? What if the next food stop is miles away and you are without a car? That is the predicament that most of Cabrini students are in due to the food shortage at the RAC Grille at Cabrini University.
Sodexo is the vendor for Cabrini’s campus as it provides food to all the dining halls on campus including Jazzman’s, Sandella’s and Cavs Corner. Of all the dining halls, the RAC seems to be the only place that runs out of multiple menu items on a daily basis. Along with the food shortage, the snack and beverage vending machines are out of order, as well as the”Simply to Go” case that holds all the fresh products has been broken since the start of the academic semester.
“I go to The RAC almost everyday,” sophomore Dayonna Nasir said. “ I would say 50% of the time they tell me they don’t have any more of whatever it is I want at the time.”
The RAC is much similar to your typical neighborhood eatery serving cheesesteaks, burgers, chicken wings, salad and much more American fan favorites. In some cases for the students, it is not their favorite, but only food source because it is the only dining hall open after 9 p.m.
On average, the RAC serves 300-400 students daily, in which many of them do not have a car to leave campus and drive to the nearest eatery for an alternative meal if their favorite meal is not in stock. So how do they react when they are told “We ran out”? Do they order something different or do they leave?
“I normally just leave because I usually want just want one thing,” sophomore Betsy Czarkowski said. “And nine times out of ten, they don’t have it.”
Other students are more dependent on the RAC because they might not have food in their dorms and will resort to the kitchen’s modifications (or substitutions rather) of their meals. Some students may receive a chicken cheesesteak because the kitchen ran out of beef, or vice versa. “Last week I got a grilled cheese on a ciabatta roll instead of old fashioned white bread,” Czarkowski said. “It wasn’t so good.”
With full awareness of this issue, since the first reported shortage during the first week of classes, Sodexo has been negligent to this ongoing issue. So the question is why, why are cooks running out of meat, bread and other products? Why are there no milkshakes? Where else can students eat from 8-11 p.m., which are the RAC’s peak hours?
Sodexo’s retail manager Elizabeth Pellegrino is responsible for closely working with her supervisors in the ordering process. The orders take place on Monday for Tuesday delivery, then again on Thursday for Friday delivery.
“We are aware that this is the largest freshman class in Cabrini’s history,” Pellegrino said. “In preparation of this, we continue to have food and beverage deliveries to the RAC consistently throughout the week in order to keep up with student demand.”
When discussing food insecurity, she was in firm belief kids do not suffer from food insecurity because the shortage. “The RAC is meant to be in addition to the dining hall not instead of,” Pellegrino said. “Since the dining hall is operational, no student is suffering from food insecurity.”
