Changes in Food Services
It may come as a surprise to current students at WSU that the food pictured above was sold across the street from the WSU campus at 505 Huff Street in the 60s and 70s. If the food pictured above looks like the food sold at McDonalds in the 60s and 70s it is no coincidence. When four Illinois businessmen in 1956 planned to start restaurants in that State, it was their intention that they be among the new McDonalds franchises being established. But when they saw that they would not be allowed to operate with the kind of independence they wanted, they decided to start their own franchise and named it Sandy’s. The corporation grew steadily until they had over 200 franchises in operation.
My purpose in writing this article is to provide some context for the current state of food services available to WSU students by describing situations in the past, like you see above, and making predictions about the future. I say less about the current state because you are living in it and are probably more acquainted with it.
The Sandy’s at 505 Huff Street opened for business in December of 1967. The business was successful. A 40’ by 60’ addition was added in 1973 to provide for indoor seating. I moved to Winona in the early 70s and ate at Sandy’s on several occasions. The food seemed comparable to similar food sold at similar establishments at that time.
But where is it now? One would have thought that it was located ideally to serve the students at WSU along with the rest of the community. Why isn’t it still there, filled with students and others eating hamburgers, fries, and milk shakes?
Initially, it seems to have been a case of go big or go home. Sandy’s merged with Hardees late in 1971. At first, the franchise owners could operate as either Hardee’s or Sandy’s, but over the next 8 years all the existing Sandy’s had converted to Hardee’s. In Winona, rather than converting the facility at 505 Huff to a Hardee’s, the facility was sold, and Hardee’s built a new facility on the northeast corner of 5th and Winona Streets.
But where is that Hardee’s now? It was closed in March of 2017 and the building has been demolished to prepare for the construction of a parking ramp/commercial facility. Prior to its closure that facility was the closest hamburger joint to the WSU campus.
This raises the question, “Do WSU students want to make the fare pictured above a main part of their diet?” Apparently not. If there was a strong demand among WSU students for these foods, we could assume that a business would emerge nearby to meet that demand.
I talked to John Sinniger, the Chartwells director of Dining Services at WSU, to get his view on the kinds of foods the campus community is asking for. John has been in the college food service industry for 35 years. He told me that he has seen many changes in the industry over that period. They survey the college community regularly to find out what foods the students want offered. It is very clear to him that the students at WSU want a diversity of options. He said that items like hamburgers and pizza are available every day, but they are not the mainstay of the menu. The mainstay is variety and without variety the students would not be satisfied. To get a WSU administration perspective, he suggested that I talk to Joe Reed, the Student Union Director.
Joe concurred with John’s assessment. He said that the only limits they deal with are facility space/equipment and costs. They try to keep costs reasonable so that foodservice can be affordable for students. Students want a variety of options in food service offerings and, within the constraints they deal with, they are happy to make those options available.
The discussions with John and Joe left me with the impression that it is the students that are in the driver’s seat when it comes to menu options. If that is the case, then it seems apparent that the menu for students at WSU is being driven away from (but not completely abandoning) traditional food service options like hamburgers and fries and toward a diverse menu with numerous options.
There is no question about the fact that food served at colleges has changed, is changing, and will continue to change. “Shortly after the War of Independence the college of Rhode Island, the future Brown University, listed what it proposed to give its teenage students. Breakfast would be tea or coffee with buttered white bread or toasted and buttered brown bread. An alternative was chocolate or milk with white bread without butter. The college’s dinners for a week were as follows: Two meals of salt beef and pork, with peas, beans, greens, roots, etc., and puddings. For drink, good small beer and cider. Two meals of fresh meat, roasted, baked, broiled, or fried, with proper sauce or vegetables. One meal of soup and fragments. One meal of broiled fresh meat with proper sauce and broth. One meal of salt or fresh fish, with brown bread. Suppers were of hasty pudding (a mush containing corn meal or wheat flour stirred to a thick batter in boiling milk or water), rice, samp (a coarse ground maize, or a porridge made from it), white bread, or milk porridge, with tea, coffee, or chocolate. Meals, especially dinner, would be varied during the week by the addition of puddings, apple pies, dumplings, or cheese as often as may be convenient and suitable.” A History of Food and Drink in America, Richard J. Hooker [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianapolis IN] 1981(p.67–68)
Compare that menu to what is offered at WSU on a regular basis. The food offered at the College of Rhode Island around 1800 was mostly limited to foods that were available locally. Supply chains for items that were not available locally were not dependable. The only items on the menu that were not produced locally were tea, coffee, chocolate, and rice and those items are relatively nonperishable with long shelf lives. Colleges had to offer what they could obtain, and students had to take what was offered. The food on the WSU menu comes from all over the country and all over the world. Not only are there many more flavors and textures available, but the offerings are generally (not always) more balanced and nutritious.
Ironically, one of the trends emerging in food services today is the move toward locally sourced foods. This trend has the potential to lessen environmental impact, improve the nutritional value of the food, and strengthen local economies. If a company like Chartwells commits to (with the encouragement of WSU) shifting to more locally sourced foods, it will likely make it more difficult to maintain high diversity in menu offerings. As the population served by WSU becomes more diverse, the demand for more diverse menu options is likely to increase. Would you accept some kind of compromise between local sourcing and diversity of offerings?
Sandy’s is gone and Hardees is gone. The menu offered at WSU today is drastically different then the menu offered at the college of Rhode Island in 1800, or even the offerings at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire when I attended between 1969 and 1973. 30 years from now I will be gone but most of you will be around 50. Here are a few of my predictions of changes over the next 30 years.
1. Restaurants. There will still be many kinds of restaurants, but the typical restaurant will be more like what I describe here. Technology will be more evident in the facilities. There will be fewer employees and more automation. Does this mean more processed food? Maybe, but not necessarily. More entertainment will be offered with the food. Combining food service and entertainment will give more value for the consumers dollar. Because more food will be locally sourced, the menus will follow the seasons more than they do now. The maître d’ will have a more important role in the service offered. He/she may be the only person (perhaps with one or two others) you usually see at the restaurant and he/she will try hard to get to know you personally and host you at the business. Most of the ordering will be done electronically by the customer at the table and the food may be self-served as well. Restaurant service will be relatively more expensive than it is now. That means there will be relatively fewer restaurants and the restaurants will be less specialized in their offerings.
2. College food services. The operations of college food services will become more integrated into the overall operation of the university. Because of this, more food services will be operated by colleges rather than by contractors. Students will be able to order their food for each meal early each morning and reserve seating at preferred locations in smaller, more intimate dining areas. All you can eat options will be less common, although it will be possible to order (and pay for) as much as you can afford. These few changes will allow the university to save money. Savings will be necessary, otherwise the food services will not be affordable as the cost of foodstuffs increases relative to today. There will be less meat and more grain on the menu. Food services will be offered as part of the compensation package for all employees and such packages may include meals for the whole family. It will become more common for students to have meals with their teachers and, in some cases, with their teachers’ families.
Stuff this article in a folder with other things you plan to save. When you stumble upon it 20–30 years from now (like I have with other items) compare the current situation with what I have predicted here. Even if I am way off the mark with my predictions, I hope that this article has helped you get a better perspective on the food services available to you right now.
About the author: James graduated from the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire in 1973 with a BS in Biology/Chemistry. He worked in environmental protection as the Pretreatment Coordinator for the City of Winona for 30 years, retiring in October of 2017. He enrolled at WSU in the Fall of 2018 to pursue a variety of interests including writing.
