MEGAN NEELEY
COPY EDITOR
9/9/2022
After a year of extensive deliberation, Sodexo’s contract has come to an end and Metz Culinary Management has integrated the new dining options into the Alma College campus as students move back in for the start of the 2022-23 school year.
“Our goal is to create a superior program for you,” the Metz Culinary Management website reads. “When you step into our dining locations, you will see it in our locally sourced ingredients, our fresh and flavorful menus, our emphasis on scratch prepared foods, and our friendly and personal service,” the website elaborates.
Metz Culinary Management promotes that their dining reflects ethnic and authentic flavors and tastes while providing gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options everyday. This is something many students would argue Sodexo never provided.
“I think [Metz Culinary Management] is a step up from last year. I feel that there is more variety in what they are serving and it has more depth,” Matt Arrigoni ‘24 said.
Furthermore, Metz Culinary Management was attractive to Alma College because of its locally sourced ingredients. It is now known that Metz Culinary Management locally sources vegetables, fruits, eggs, bread and bakery items within a 150 mile radius of campus.
One thing that is also great about Metz Culinary Management is the more flexible hours they are offering. While Sodexo was known to have confined hours to tight meal times, Metz Culinary Management is offering Continental between breakfast and lunch and soup and salad options between lunch and dinner.
“The updated hours allow students to work nutrition into their schedules easier than last year with the brunch times as well as the soup and salad times,” Luc Lawson ‘24 said.
However, it has been noted that there is no after dinner dining option anywhere on campus at this time. Lawson expressed that “one thing [he] would change is [how] they still close decently early for a college campus dining facility which inconveniences a lot of athletes and other students with night classes.”
A rather obvious change is that there is no longer a Mongo station, as Metz Culinary Management has swapped this for a Southern Kitchen option. Other meal options can be seen on a posted weekly menu.
“The only thing that I miss about Mongo was that it was an easy way to get protein as an athlete. Now we seem to have one less protein-full option in SAGA,” Arrigoni said.
Another addition with Metz Culinary Management is the new campus dietitian, Kim Griffin. “I am very excited to work with students this year! My goal is to be a resource for students’ nutritional needs and assist with eating healthy on campus,” said Griffin.
When asked about what Metz brings to the table, Griffin added that “our Metz team has a lot of heart with many talented and gifted culinarians. We are blessed to have this partnership and look forward to creating options to suit everyone’s tastes.”
The website for Metz Culinary Management mentions seasonal promotions, contests and giveaways that will be offered throughout the year. This has yet to be experienced as the semester has only just begun.
Ultimately, the website highlights that “Metz Culinary Management is proud to bring Alma College the best on-campus food program with a variety of tastes that are sure to please.”
