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Aramark leaves bad taste in wallet
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Whether you study economics or not, it’s hard to defend a corporation involved with monopolistic business practices including price fixing. Boise State University contracts food and catering services to a multi-billion dollar corporation whose practices involve just that.
Aramark Corporation is a $11.6 billion company that is not only responsible for food, beverage and catering services at BSU but a number of universities, prisons and hospitals across the nation.
Regardless of where you eat on campus, your food purchases are directly funding Aramark. Since Aramark has the monopoly on all food and beverage purchases made on campus, the high-priced bill is left with the students as Aramark sweeps up the healthy profits free from competition. While many students elect to eat off campus, other students do not have that option. Students living on-campus must pay for a mandatory meal-plan that is provided by none-other than Aramark. Students residing on campus are required to fork over cash which forces them to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week at the Table Rock Cafe located in the Student Union Building. While some meal-plans offer “flex-bucks,” an alternative to TRC, the choices are still slim.
“It’s unfortunate for the students who have to eat on campus. They’re stuck on campus and they don’t have a choice,” Boise State biology major Brandi Herrera said.
While the quality of TRC can be debated in a later issue, it’s important to address the fact that students’ dollars are spent sometimes reluctantly only to shore up Aramark profits.
Each and every fee-paying student is affected by Aramark’s stiff price fixing. Fee-paying students are burdened with the fact that a certain percentage of their student fees fund the Associated Students of BSU. Because the Associated Students of BSU provide matching funds for student clubs and organizations we can see our dollars go into Aramark’s pocket even further. Whenever student clubs and organizations host special events and socials for students, they are required to employ University Dining Services if it is held on campus.
According to clubs.boisestate.edu, “The contract guarantees Aramark the exclusive right to provide all food services, concession, vending and catering on the entire Boise State Campus.”
So, as a stipulation of Aramark’s contract, all food must be purchased from Aramark or go through a rigorous approval process.
If you still think that’s reasonable, wait until you read the menu. At Campusdining.com you’ll find that a three-gallon tub of ice cream costs $55.99 and a full sheet cake is $55. That’s more than $100 for cake and ice cream. Not only are students required to hire Aramark for catering, they’re forced to pay unreasonable prices.
BSU is a Metropolitan Research University of Distinction and as students we shouldn’t be forced into paying movie theater prices to feed ourselves on campus. Aramark’s contract will expire in July of 2011 with the option of extending five more one-year contracts. Hopefully, Aramark can ease up on the food prices before the menu gets too stale and the students’ wallets are too empty.
Gabe Murphy
Opinion Journalist
