Meeting with Scott and Randall, Nov 5, 1pm

Stella, Keri, and I just had a meeting with Randall Taylor and Scott Maino and here is what we talked about:

Green Report Card: Scott did not write this, but Mark Kelly of admissions did. Scott is working on my comments I made to the Green Report Card and will get back to me.
According to Tennessee State Law, leftovers or hog slop can not be given away because of sanitation. This is not ARAMARK, so if we want to change it, we would have to go through the state.
In the mean time, Scott is ordering a real compost bucket for beside the tray return, new garbage cans for the prep area so we can start picking up compost a couple of times a week, and continuing with coffee and bread bits.
Waste display was going to happen, soon. Maybe the 16th of November? More to come on that.

Both were opposed to discussion of non-buffet style service- this could be due to the small size of the University and the grand scale of our dining hall, which means McClurg would not be profitable to Aramark if we only paid for 15 meals a week or pay for each item individually as opposed to the unlimited food we get now. They did not say this outright, but Keith Davis explained this to me last year.

THE GLOBE
Barnes and Nobles get priority to the proposal, which they will present in the second week of December.*****Their 7-year contract is expiring in the spring***** So even if we put a proposal together, they will be considered first. They want to put in Starbucks, microwavable food, grab and go type things. If they do want to put local produce it, they would go through Dixie Produce like Aramark does, which means our beloved farmers on the mountain would not be included because they don't have the insurance (the same obstacles to getting local food in McClurg would apply here).

We will be meeting with Eric Hartman, Nikki Hamilton, Mary Beth Walker, and Donna Palmer of Barnes and Nobles to discuss alternatives to B&N or how to work with B&N to get a local market. We will talk with ResLife to promote students cooking for themselves, which would go along with fresh, whole food that could be offered. We want to talk with the university executive committee (aka the VC and trustees) that will be reviewing the B&N proposal to ensure that community engagement, students involvment, and sustainability are priorites.
We want to contact GreenLife to see if they are interested in working with B&N to start a local market in that space.

If you are interested in attending any of these meetings, let us know!