Food survey results are in

The quality and affordability of food is always a hot topic on university campuses. Students enrolled in meal plans rely on campus food most of the time and many staff and faculty eat multiple meals a week on campus. It’s no surprise that there is demand for high-quality, healthy and affordable food.

Over the past few months, there have been some lively conversations on UVic’s social media about food on our campus. From reviews of stellar gingerbread cookies and University Food Services (UNFS) staff to commentary on variety and quality or complaints about Meatless Mondays, students are making their feelings known—and the university is taking note.

In February, UNFS conducted their annual comprehensive food survey to gather qualitative feedback from the campus community on a variety of food topics. This year, with the rising inflationary costs across Canada, affordability was top of mind as staff compiled the survey questions.

The survey is important because it allows us to hear directly from our community and provides a wealth of information regarding their food preferences, brand loyalty, and most importantly feedback on our offerings and customer service. It also helps us gauge the breadth of food security concerns, how best to balance sustainability values and initiatives on campus and how students want to see us respond to these issues.

- John Thompson, Director, UNFS

The survey had remarkably high uptake, with almost 3,000 responses. The UNFS leadership team has carefully read and considered all feedback. A few highlights are outlined below.

Customer service

Feedback on interactions with UNFS staff and speed of service was very positive, with an average of 85-95% satisfied to very satisfied. With an average of 55,000 transactions each week, Thompson says it’s no surprise that people are impressed with the service. “It takes a very talented and hardworking team to provide this level of service and our staff members care about their work and the students we serve,” says Thompson. “We’re incredibly proud of our team and the relationships that flourish within our dining and retail locations.”

Food quality

While reviews of Mystic and other UNFS food locations were relatively strong, ratings for food in the Cove were more mixed. Some are loving the new stations, food and coffee additions—while others are less enthusiastic. Concerns and suggestions for improvement were raised around the quality and variety of food options at the Cove.

The Cove opened for the first time in September 2022 and, since then, the UNFS team has been working hard to get things running smoothly. Thompson is taking student reviews—both good and bad—to heart and is prioritizing short- and longer-term improvements.

The survey collected 209 comments about Meatless Mondays and Thompson has suspended the program, effective immediately. The weekly meat-free menu was introduced in response to previous food survey feedback that called for definitive climate action on campus.

The UVic Meatless Monday program was meant to be bold, to go beyond what any other institutions had done in the past in keeping with the university’s aggressive climate actions and goals. But not every bold new initiative is going to work exactly as planned. We’ve listened to the feedback and will adapt the program to be opt-in next September.

- John Thompson, Director, UNFS

In addition, pasta was requested as a core daily meal by 88 meal plan students in this year’s survey. In response, the team immediately added pasta to daily menu rotations and longer-term, they expect to add a permanent pasta station in the Cove.

These are just the first of many changes/improvements the team expects to make in the coming months in response to the survey.

Affordability

The UVic community is feeling the pressure and challenge of food insecurity brought on by the effects of rising costs—especially with the double-digit increases in basic food items. Unfortunately, while the university is working hard to limit the effects of soaring prices on campus, survey results show low ratings for affordability and food security. University Affairs recently shared that this is a concern across many Canadian University campuses.

As an ancillary operation, UNFS meal plan fees and retail revenue must cover all operating expenses, including food, supplies, energy, programming, staff and facility maintenance and improvements. With rising global costs, UNFS has had to adjust the price for some less-healthy snack items. However, through menu adjustments and by revamping ingredients, they’ve managed to prevent price increases for core meal options, in the midst of global cost pressures.

“It’s extremely unfortunate, but the rising costs of everything in Canada means that the supplies, energy and food we’re purchasing are far more expensive at the outset. Despite our efforts to keep costs as low as possible, we know students are still struggling. We’re taking these concerns very seriously and will do everything we can to improve food security on our campus, in the midst of these rising costs,” says Thompson.

In response to the survey, UNFS will develop a value-priced menu to ensure that every food location has an easy-to-find lower-priced option ($5 or less). UNFS will also continue to invest and expand food-security programs like the new Meal Share Program, which has distributed $30,000 in $50 flex food awards to 600 students since September 2023. Students are able to anonymously purchase food or drinks based on their personal needs at any food services location on campus including all UVSS food outlets.

Responding to survey results

The annual food survey is an important tool that informs UNFS’s operational and program planning for the upcoming academic year. In response to last year’s survey, UNFS introduced a range of changes in 2022/23, including a plant-based food concept within the new dining program, more vegan and vegetarian options, halal and shawarma in the Cove, improved waste-diversion efforts, the reusable eco-container program, locally roasted Fernwood Coffee at the Cove, and the Meal Share Program.

While UNFS has already made some changes in response to the most recent survey, they know more needs to be done. The UNFS management team held a full-day retreat to assess the survey results and develop short-, mid-term, and long-term strategies to ensure that student, faculty and staff input would drive key changes within their operations. 

According to Thompson, “Based on the survey data, we’ll look specifically at meal-plan options, including all-access dining, a value-priced program, food-security supports, sustainability, and the feasibility of adding more brand or chain outlets on campus. We can promise that changes will be made and we’ll update the community this fall through an open house forum once we’ve created our action plan.”

In the meantime, your feedback, questions and concerns are always welcome at eat@uvic.ca. The UNFS leadership team reviews and responds to every email received.