Marianopolis Cafeteria: Exclusive or Expensive?
The food at the school cafeteria is a common topic of conversation between Marianopolis students. Needing to eat at school on most days, whether just for a snack or for a lunch, the cafeteria plays an omnipresent role in students’ life. For a school that has a high standard in grades and prides itself on their students’ academic excellence, it is interesting to note the quality of the food, a basic daily need to not only students but teachers, being offered. So, to understand what determines the food being served at the school and the price it is sold at, the News Blitz interviewed several individuals, in and outside of the school, to investigate the matter.
This article is the first one in a series we created to understand the interior functioning of the cafeteria and the school. In this article, we will be focusing on the Finance and Expenses element of the food, including the financial expenses of the catering company and what sets the price of the food. This article will be divided into three major parts, each focusing on the answers we obtained from different people.
Speaking To The Cafeteria
First, we talked to the owner of Cook and Etc, the catering company currently under contract with the school. We were interested in getting to know the reason why the price of the food is what it is, Cook and Etc’s contract with the school, and how they determine what food is sold or not. There are a few things to notice about the cafeteria. Since it is open only throughout the school semester and closed when students are on break, the catering company needs to make enough for the employees to have income the whole year. Also, the price can vary with the number of students attending Marianopolis but only if it decreases. So, if the number of students goes up, the food price will remain as it is. Lastly, the café is part of the company, where they concentrate on desserts and coffee options.
Here is a general overview of Cook and Etc as provided by the owner of the business. They have been working with the school since 2018 with a contract of 5 years. Marianopolis reached out to them based on recommendations and has worked with corporate companies before but they wanted a company that offered something more personal and thus chose Cook and Etc. The company does not work for other schools, but they cater all the events at Marianopolis, including all graduations since 2018, scholarship events, and teachers’ days. In contrast to corporate companies, Cook and Etc does not use frozen vegetables and meats and has real chefs on hand.
Christina Muccardi, the owner of Cook and Etc, said that prices are determined through food costs, production costs, and labor costs, with a set profit margin. Since Covid-19 started, food and labor costs have increased which have impacted the cafeteria. For example, before the pandemic, there was a sushi chef, who is no longer employed because the cost of labor has escalated during the labor shortage. Still, the cafeteria employs, for example, a butcher who takes care of cutting up the pieces of meat imported from outside, such as chicken breasts into chicken cutlets. Christina said that every stage of the food industry has been affected by the pandemic, even things such as transportation while trucker drivers threaten to go on strike. (source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/truckers-strike-threat-port-vancouver-1.6268407) Therefore, as food and labor costs went up, so did the cost of the food sold in the cafeteria as there is a 20-30% markup as the profit margin. The company also needs to pay rent towards the school, but it doesn’t affect the price of food, as that is considered overhead. Before the beginning of each semester, Christina presents the list of prices of her products and needs to get the approval of the school. She said that the relationship between the school and her is great, and they are able to discuss issues openly with each other. Christina said that she tries to keep prices as affordable as possible for students. Prices are taxed as they want to simplify the process of calculating the price for students.
As Cook and Etc is a company on its own feet, they need to be sure that the food they sell brings in revenue. Like any business, they follow the principle of supply and demand. If the cafeteria offers a meal, a certain number of students need to buy it in order for the cafeteria to make a profit. Christina stated that she orders food in bulk and cannot refrigerate something for a long time before it is used. This relates to the food selection available. The cafeteria takes recommendations from students often, but it does not mean the recommended product will be sold permanently. Similarly does the culturally variable options work. Christina said that she has bought Kosher food, which is food treated according to the Jewish dietary code, previously, but she could not make a profit from it and therefore could not continue offering it. As for Halal options, she explained that there have been very few requests for them, and it would be difficult to get halal options if they do not sell. She noted that Halal meat is also more expensive than ordinary meat and following the halal procedure brings more elements to consider when treating the meat such as the cutting board cannot be touched by non-halal meat.
Additionally, Christina explained how some food products are marked up by more than 20% from their value because they need to balance out the price of other things such as hot meals which are not marked up so high. She tries to make those meals affordable but also needs to reach a balance in her profit. Moreover, some fruits, like apples, are sold at the same price in the cafeteria all year long (from 1 dollar to 1,50 dollars), but they cost less during the fall season than during the spring season. The cafeteria therefore also needs to balance out the cost of seasonal food.
When asked if she has received complaints about the food prices, Christina said that she did but she also considers the number of people who haven’t complained. She said, even though the food is expensive in the context of a school cafeteria, it is definitely less expensive than what is sold in a restaurant or a bistro. The limits of the prices are set between those of a restaurant and of a grocery store. When it comes to snacks such as a granola bar, the prices are either the same or lesser than the ones in a vending machine.
As for the topic of minimum payment on card machines, Christina described how credit card companies request a fee per machine, per month, and per transaction. There are more fees if a visa card is used. So, every time a student uses their card to purchase food, the card company will take up to 7 cents per transaction. If there was no minimum of money transacted, the cafeteria would pay the fee over small transactions. With a minimum amount, they ensure to pay the fee only on transactions higher than 5 dollars.
Since they are not subsidized, meaning they are not supported financially, as a company, Cook and Etc is a business comparable to Starbucks and Tim Hortons on the level of the food prices.
Speaking To Marianopolis Finance
Furthermore, we spoke to the Marianopolis administration about the cafeteria. Ms. Joanne Gagné, the head of finance explained that the contract between Mariannapolis and Cook and Etc is just like any other contract the school may have with third-party providers, such as garbage pickup and snow removal. These contracts are managed through processes that demonstrate proper controls and obtaining quotes. However, given that Marianopolis is a private institution, all such contracts are considered confidential and details cannot be shared with the media or public. Therefore, details of the cafeteria’s contract cannot be disclosed. What we could find out is that when choosing a company to cater to the Marianopolis cafeteria, the selection process is like any other contract in the school. As they are not required to go public, they can select a few companies and contact them to see if they will provide an offer or they can take a different approach depending on the nature of the contract. For the cafeteria, the process took many years and was conducted following the correct regulations. However, Ms.Gagné shared that these procedures and regulations are confidential.
We wanted to know if the selection was based on a financial consideration or if they were seeking a low-cost solution. Ms. Gagné informed us that this was not the case. While this may be true at some public institutions, Marianopolis has different criteria and it is not reliant on affordability. Unfortunately, the criteria could not be shared with us due to confidentiality.
Concerns were also raised regarding the number of companies that have catered to the cafeteria over the past 10 years, however, when prompted, Ms. Gagné and Ms. Rubertucci were unsure of how many companies have catered for them, but expressed no concern as they claim that that aspect had been stable.
Ms. Gagné further stated that she did not think the cafeteria food was expensive because she had nothing to compare it with. However, when we presented the Champlain menu to compare, she reiterated that, in fact, she meant that there are surely price variations among institutions, but there is a difference in quality. She also said that there have been price increases in the food industry. She said that the school’s goal is not to give customers the lowest prices, but rather to give them the best quality.
Both Ms. Gagné and Ms. Rubertucci agree that they can open up a committee if students have concerns. There was a committee before Covid-19, but it had shut down while classes were online. If the committee were to reopen, they would be able to discuss with the cafeteria provider if any issues were to arise. Ms. Gagné also states that in regards to a lack of vegan, kosher and halal options, students should understand that in a large population of 2000, not everyone’s needs can be met. The food provided in the cafeteria is provided for the majority. Nevertheless, if there are major issues, the committee can be reopened.
Marianopolis Compared To Other Cegeps
Following the interviews we did at school, we talked to two students at Champlain College to make an inter-collegial comparison of cafeteria prices. Marianopolis is a school with a small student body, so a comparison would only be fair if we were to compare it to a Cegep of a similar population size. Since Marianopolis has an approximate population of 2000 students, we decided to speak to students from Champlain. We spoke to Emma Roberge, the VP Internal of the Champlain Students Association at the Lennoxville Campus and to Maelys, the VP of Academic Affairs at the Saint-Lambert campus. Champlain College shares one of its campuses with Bishop’s College, so there are some eating places situated on Bishop’s campus that Champlain students can enjoy.
On her collective campus, Emma said that four locations sell food, including two chains that sell outside of their school too which are Bekkah’s Bakery and Tim Hortons. She said that there are diverse options in their cafeterias. For vegetarians or vegans, they have fish tacos, veggie burgers, vegetarian chili, veggie burritos. At Marianopolis, students have veggie wraps, burgers, and the pasta is vegetarian on most days. Emma believes that Kosher and Halal students have different options around the campus. Their fridge sections contain similar options to Marianopolis, such as salads, sandwiches, fruit cups, and packaged snacks. They also have smoothies, avocado toast, chili, rice, etc. Concerning the food’s price, she stated that the fries cost 2.75$ and the poutine costs 6.25$, without taxes. In comparison, Marianopolis’ prices are up 60 to 80 cents on those two foods. Lastly, she said that she finds the prices reasonable since the meals are of a good size and they taste good. She mentions that their student council features a rating system of the cafeterias, and no food has gotten a score below 7 out of 10.
At the Lennoxville Campus, Maelys informed us that the official number of students in Champlain is 3150 students. The food options on their campus are quite similar to ours, comprising of just a cafeteria and a few vending machines. In terms of prices, although both schools have similar options available, the prices range. At Champlain, large fries cost $3.30, and poutine costs $5.75 while also offering variations such as different sizes, which can be more affordable to some students, and spicy or gravy fries. As opposed to the cafeteria in Marianopolis, where a single size of poutine and fries is offered.
Conclusion
After getting more information about the cafeteria, we can say that it reflects a typical food system in a school where the prices of the food are determined by the company in control of the food and the school. However, if students are not satisfied with the set system, how can the school break away from the typical system and create a better environment for their students? There will be an article coming out in the following months featuring the exact thoughts of Marianopolis students on the cafeteria. Many schools and universities have started on a food justice initiative, such as Concordia and McGill universities, which leaves more control over the food being served in the hands of the students. For now, we leave with the question of “Is it possible for a school to sell good food at a student-approved price at the same time?”.
