Beginning this fall, Harding has a new food distributor on campus after its decades-long contract with Aramark ended in the spring. Tammy Hall, vice president for finance and chief financial officer, officially announced Chartwells as Harding\u2019s new vendor in May. According to Senior Director of Dining Derek Good, the University was ready to consider a new vendor for the Harding community after 33 years with Aramark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chartwells\u2019s arrival brought several new food options and upgrades: the student center received updates, including Tu Taco in place of Taco Bell, and a Sally the Robot vending machine; the Mabee Business Building now has the Market at Mabee, offering wraps and sandwiches; Midnight Oil replaced Java City in the Brackett Library, where students can now use Dining Dollars to purchase coffee; Create, which offers fresh salads and smoothies, resides in the Farrar building cafe. Chartwells also increased Panda Express\u2019s days of operation to a full week. Additionally, students can now use their student meal plans to buy dumplings from the Slader\u2019s Alaskan Dumpling food truck near the Ganus Activities Complex. Finally, the cafeteria underwent its second rebrand in the past year, now being called the Range Food Hall. An update to Harding\u2019s dining plan came along with Chartwells, providing more Dining Dollars with its meal exchanges. Students are now allowed to use five meal swipes per week after 2 p.m. in the student center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19 has forced Chartwells to alter its dining service operation in a way that prevents the spread of the virus, resulting in slower food lines. Assistant Vice President of Finance \u2014and member of the new vendor selection committee \u2014 Tim Jones said he understood the challenges Chartwells faced due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is not the way [Chartwells] prefer to do food,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the way they presented it to [the selection committee], but they don\u2019t have any choice at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many students expressed appreciation regarding the vendor change, including senior Jackson Duncan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe way Chartwells uses your dining plan and your swipes is much more student-friendly,\u201d Duncan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although many approved Chartwells\u2019s dining plan, not everyone believed that the food distributor significantly altered Harding\u2019s food selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel like they made a big deal out of [the vendor change], and it didn\u2019t really change that much,\u201d sophomore Cooper Richardson said. \u201cIt\u2019s mostly the same options as last year, and it tastes the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although otherwise satisfied by the updates, Duncan and Richardson both said they wished Harding\u2019s dining service still included \u201cLate-Night Caf,\u201d a late dinner option introduced by Aramark last semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey have to bring [Late-Night Caf] back,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cThat was the best thing to ever happen to the Caf. Ever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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