DSL to search for new dining provider, seeks student input
MIT sent out a food and dining survey Mar. 13 to help “develop a plan that will inform the search for a dining provider,” Matthew Bauer, director of communications for the Division of Student Life, wrote in an email to The Tech.
The search for a new dining provider, guided by responses from the student survey and feedback from Envision, a consulting firm engaged by DSL, will start in May and will take over a year. A new vendor is projected to be selected by fall 2018.
The survey asks students about their dining preferences — including favorite dining locations, preferred dining timings, and preferred dining foods.
The survey includes the option to have an unlimited-swipes plan, and to allow meals to expire only after a semester instead of after each week. While a per-semester plan may cut costs for students, it could also lead to more food waste, since it would be harder for the dining provider to estimate supplies needed for a given week, according to Envision. The survey alternatively includes the option to allocate a certain amount of US dollars towards dining each semester, and pay per-meal, similar to paying with meals via TechCash.
Bon Appétit’s contract with MIT ends in May, but Bon Appétit is expected to continue providing food at MIT for the next academic year.