November 30, 2003:
Q: Dear Commons, To go along with the previous student's comments, I must agree with him/her. I am first-year student and I wholeheartedly believe that the food at Commons is disgraceful. I am horrified by the fact that Bates supposedly was in the top ten for "best college dining experience." How is this possible? The food is always cold. The salad bar closes every night at least 45 minutes before Commons is supposed to close up for the night. You constantly serve the same meals every week. There is absolutely no variation at all! I'm tired of eating the same chicken, pasta and vegan specials! Some nights, you don't even have anything that I can eat, so I must resort to eating a salad. There have been several nights in a row when I've eaten only a salad because Commons doesn't have anything decent to eat. In addition, I am tired of getting dirty looks when I take more than one yogurt. I have early classes in the morning, and therefore, I take three or four yogurts back to my room with me, ! so that I can eat breakfast in the morning. We are paying a king's ransom for this school, and we should be allowed to take yogurt, cereal or a piece of fruit back to our dorms with us if we please. Furthermore, the desserts are pathetic. I can't even call them desserts half the time! I've lost at least ten to tweleve pounds since I've been here. Something's wrong, Commons. I shouldn't be losing weight! I should be gaining it! Whatever happened to the freshman 15? Also, I've spoken to several other Batesies and they feel the same way about our dining program. I don't mean to sound like a spolied brat, but can we at least make some improvements, and for heaven's sake, Commons is suppose to close at 7:30, not 6:45. Stop closing the salad bars and shutting off the heaters for the food! Thank you for your time.
A: As with the previous e-mail, I would like to thank you for coming forward with your concerns I have found in many cases that individuals are not aware of the variety and selection that we do provide on a daily basis. To begin with we run a 5 week rotating menu cycle ( 21 meals per week). Every day at lunch we provide a marche in the Main Dining Room, 4 selections of pizza at the pizza station that rotate daily/mealy and weekly, 2 regular entrees and one vegetarian that rotate daily/mealy and weekly as well as starches and two vegetables and three different types of desserts.In addition there are two deli bars and two salad bars with over 35 item. All this is available besides 36 different flavors of cereal, bagels, fresh fruit, assorted speciality items in the vegan cooler , yogurts and many other regular items.At dinner all the same variety of options is available with the exception for the deli bars- though there is deli meat on the salad bar- and there is the addition of a vegan bar. The low ceiling salad bar in fact closes at 7:15pm with the high ceiling salad bar open till 8:00p when Commons closes. As for the food being cold, we work consistently on this problem. You may not have noticed, but this is an old facility which was actually built to feed 500, we now feed almost 1700 and has not seen a major renovation in the past 18 years. To address this problem we batch cook, prepare as close to service time as possible and prepare many items out front so that we can cook to order. Concerning items being taken from Commons, we have never had an issue with individuals taking individual items, yogurts, fruit, from Commons. The concern we had were individuals taking bags of bread, bowls of meals and jars or peanut butter- much more then they could ever eat. From your response I would guess that you did not attend the food forum , sponsored by the R.A., the Monday before Fall break. At that meeting I did a presentation concerning all aspects of the Dining Operation which , from the comments I received later, was an educational experience for many. While it is true that you pay a fair price for tuition here, the fact of the matter is that just very small percentage goes towards funding dining services. If you are interested I would be more then happy to go over this information with you. In fact our participation rate this year- those eating meals- is higher then it has ever been ( though those on the board plan have not increased by the same percentage) resulting in more food being prepared while the amount of waste has decreased ( less uneaten food) . I know that we are not perfect, and can certainly always improve. With that said I would encourage you to assist us in addressing your concerns as well as provide us with a direct line of communication by joining the Dining Services Food Advisory Committee. appreciate the Beyond that I have a meeting scheduled with both the menu committee and all management staff to review your concerns- we have already made entree changes to all Saturdays- and determine how we can better meet your needs.In addition I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you in person and discuss your concerns. If this is something you would be interested in doing, please contact me directly at cschwart with times and dates that work for you.

November 29, 2003:
Q: Thank you for the great job you guys did over break! The extra effort to make things just that little bit better (or maybe just the fact that cooking for less people is easier) did not go unnoticed. Thanks!
A: No problem.

November 20, 2003:
Q: If possible, it would be nice to have parmesan cheese, soy sauce, thai peanut sauce, and tabasco available by the Den salad bar on a regular basis. The parmesan cheese seems to come out only at pizza time, and even with pizza, it's not always there. Also, thanks for offering sandwich "wraps"--I'd love to see them on the menu more often!
A: No problem.

November 19, 2003:
Q: I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Commons Staff on a job well done tonight at Harvest Dinner. As usual, the food was AMAZING, and the desserts even better. Thank you so much for all the time and effort put forth into making this a wonderful meal, it truly is appreciated. Thanks Again.
A: Thanks for your kind words, but as much as you enjoy it, we love doing it.Have a happy holiday

November 18, 2003:
Q: I was wondering if it would be possible to have the coffee of the week flavor be French Vanilla during finals week. Many people will drink coffee that week, and I believe it is the overall favorite coffee flavor. Commons staff would be regarded as heroes among men if this were to happen! THANKS! --Coffee Lover

November 18, 2003:
Q: Can we have smart start as a cerial option too please?
A: Only if we discontinue another one. We have no room to add a new cereal.
A: Let me see what I can do, but I can't make any promises.

November 17, 2003:
Q: Have you ever considered putting a different glaze on the acorn squash? My mom uses brown sugar/butter or maple syrup. Might be tasty!
A: Yes we have.

November 17, 2003:
Q: I just had chicken nuggets 3 times in the last 10 days. I'm a 21 year old male, supposedly at one of the best colleges in the country, with the 10th rated dining services. I am not a 10 year old fourth grader. I don't understand how with 1700 kids all paying thousands of dollars for a meal plan, we get food that is the same as, but not as good as, McDonalds. The french fries are constantly cold and undercooked, and when being served 4 times a week, that just doesnt get it done. Also, I have now eatin chicken patti sandwiches (with rubber bands and other miscelaneous debri in them) every Saturday afternoon for 3 years. I almost choked on them twice now, and that kind of leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Don't you think it would be nice to switch it up for once, and serve something on Saturday afternoon that will sit in your stomach for more than 20 minutes. For some unknown reason, Commons goes downhill every Friday night, and takes a 3 to 4 day break. Today, there was no ketchup from 12:45 on until I had to go and find someone (a high chool aged male, who really does deserve a raise, because he was working at least twice as hard as everyone else) and he left his post, went and got a thing of ketchup, and filled the container. That's pretty tough to handle, especially when you are being served french fries and chicken nuggets, and also when commons is only running one salad bar (since the other one shuts down a good 50 minutes prior to closing). I'm glad that we are all proud of your environmental initiatives and the availability of food for those with alternate diets. This in fact should be commended and has been. However, the mass majority of the people here are very displeased with the quality of the food. Trust me, we all notice that the 27 varieties of chicken you serve are in fact boiled chicken breast slices with a light sprinkling of random spices, and no matter what you call it, its just not that good. I find that is a reoccuring theme around here, that you really don't get what you pay for, but sure enough parent's weekend always manages to be a nice time (they even sent in a cleaning lady to my house that Saturday morning). I only hope that at some point someone will wake up, and things will get straightened out. Commons is great from Tuesday until Friday afternoon, but that just doesnt get the job done. Because the majority of the people here are students 7 days a week, and we deserve to eat like students 7 days a week, not 3.5.
A: First I would like to thank you for you response to the napkin board, to be frank this is the first I have heard of these concerns. In terms of our decision to serve chicken patties every Saturday morning, this was driven by the student body. We have on several occasions taken this item off Saturday mornings only to have a multitude of requests for it's return. With this in mind, we did do a chicken pattie tasting this past summer at which time we upgraded the previous pattie. Likewise, the menus for Friday nights are driven by the many many requests we have had for Hamburgers every day. It is both impossible and unfair for us to serve hamburgers every day, so in order to meet this request the hamburger became a regular rotation on Friday nights when the count is lower. In reading your comments about the menu in general, I'm alarmed by what you point out to be a general " break" of 3 to 4 days in our commitment to provide interesting menu options.Just this past year we put steak on the menu as a rotating option for Saturday night and have been looking at alternatives for the low participation meal periods- Friday dinner, Saturday Lunch and Dinner and Sunday Brunch- though it appears that we need to do a better job. In reviewing the menu, chicken nuggets are indeed served two weeks in a row, cycle 1 & 5 going back to back. On both occasions there are other menu options provided as well, though in reviewing them they are not the most popular. I will make sure that when chicken nuggets are served- this items has the highest acceptability rate of anything we serve- that there is an item whose acceptability rate is in the top 1/3 as well- bakes stuffed sole, eggplant parm etc... In terms of the service that the Commons displayed on Saturday, this was unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The second salad bar should not have closed 50 minutes prior to the end of the meal. When checking into the issue this morning the salad bar was , as you pointed out, closed at 12:45p when in reality the policy is that it does not close till 1:15p. This was a poor decision made by a Service Supervisor and will not happen again. I value your comments and will be taking a closer look at the menu as well as service with the goal of providing more weekend menu option as well as the consistent level of outstanding service we are known for. Dining Services is committed to providing you with a quality service and I appreciate your frankness. Thanks you for your response.

November 16, 2003:
Q: Hi, this time I have a more selfish request. I'd like to request that >the >ingredients for the 'Asian soup bowl' be made available at all times... >for the sake of us East Asians who are far from home *snif* and lacking in >basic Asian type foods especially during breakfast time. Thanks! I >certainly won't hold it against DS if this is not economically viable.
A: This is really not possible., though we have put it on the menu more often. Is there another Breakfast item that might be more feasible for us to provide on a regular basis?

November 15, 2003:
Q: I put a napkin up about this a little while ago. i >was >hoping that there could be a way that napkins and waste food could be >weighed and posted after each meal or at the end of each day. the >students would then see how much we waste. Weighing wast combined with >the push to reduce could have very interesting effects. Students would >learn to judge how much food they eat, they would also learn to ask for >just as much as they want. it might even save the dining service >money. you could more adequately judge how much food you need to >make. i've gone to a few camps which had this system and some days we >could produce no waste. i saw that you put up a chart of how much waste >we keep out of landfills, and i think this we be another interesting and >helpfull endevor.
A: Excellent idea. We will start posting those numbers. Thanks for writing.

November 14, 2003:
Q: I loved the asparagus in the salad bar at last night's dinner (11/13). Can you have it more often please? Thanks!
A: We can certainly try. The reason that we had it last Wednesday night- ever though it is out of season- was for the adventures in Dining. Once it is back in season, we can easily add it to the menu. Thanks for writing.

November 13, 2003:
Q: There are "whole wheat" rolls offered on the menu sometimes. Are these truly made of "whole wheat" or just "wheat". There is a HUGE difference and I would like to know what Bates' "whole wheat" roles contain.
A: Whole Wheat flour is used in this recipe. Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

November 13, 2003:
Q: As a first year at Bates I wanted to let you know how impressed I am withthe selections at Commons. The food here is better than what I eat at home! I had a couple of requests though. Is it possible to have peppercorn dressing at the salad bar every day or at least more often? Just as we have eggs every day, sliced chicken at the salad bar would be a great daily option. Finally, at the beginning of the year you served some type of chicken marinated in lime. It was wonderful and I miss it! Thanks for the great food.
A: Thanks for your wonderful comments. I will pass them on. As for being able to have peppercorn dressing and chicken on the salad bar every day, we can certainly place them in the rotation more often, but it is really impossible to have them all the time given the number of items that are on the rotation. The chicken you are referring to is , exactly as your guessed, lime chicken and yes we can serve that more often. Thanks for writing.

November 12, 2003:
Q: More creamy italian dressing! it is by far the best dressing out there.
A: Glad that you like it.

November 11, 2003:
Q: I was wondering ... i know we have SOOO many cereals, but for all of those who only eat whole garins, would it be possible to maybe get millet (it's just puffed millet and is 100% natural, with no sugar or anything but the actual millet) or maybe puffed rice (which is also good for gluten free people). That's just a thought.. thanks and let me know what you think!
A: I will need to look into this one. It may not even be available in institutional pack. I'll get back to you. Thanks for writing

November 7, 2003:
Q: I know i just wrote to ask about 2% milk, bbut since then i have noticed that the chocolate dispensers are gone. is that permanent? personally, i miss them even though we have the syrup. on a side note, though, i LOVE that we have strawberry syrup! pink milk rules.
A: This is not a permanent thing. We have just had a lot of requests for Cider, so temporarily replaced the chocolate- which is by far the least popular- with cider.

November 5, 2003:
Q: Can we have carrot ginger soup soon?
A: Sure Can

November 5, 2003:
Q: I was wondering if Commons has ever thought sbout switching to a differnt deli meat provider because i personallyt hink the regular deli turkey is a little on the slimy side. The smoked turkey isnt as slimy. Also it is sliced soooo thick. Would it at all be possible to have them start slicing it thinly. My mom always buys it practically shaved, but since some people probably like it thick, maybe there could be a happy medium! Thanks!
A: We actually just upgraded the deli turkey at the beginning of this school year, but I agree with you shaved is much better. I just spoke with the individual who sliced the meats for the deli bar, and you should be seeing a change for the better. Thanks for writing

November 5, 2003:
Q: I am abroad right now and i couldnt remember do we have baked tofu in the salad bar every night and plain tuna (not tuna salad) in the salad bar everyday as well as in the deli bar at lunch? I can't wait to come back second semester and enjoy commons again!!
A: All those items are present on a rotational basis. Be safe and see you soon.

November 4, 2003:
Q: The Ranch Pizza is awesome...such a great idea, as well as the asain bowl! I have a few questions...
1. Can we do the bread bowl soups at the marche station again? they are so yummy!
2. Is there anyway we can bring back Omelet night or maybe just have it every once in a while?
3. And just had an idea for something different at the marche or dinner... chicken quesadillas. Sorry for my multiple questions and suggestions, just thought I would get them all out at once
A: Thanks!!!! As for your suggestions, I'm sure we can incorporate to them into the menu. Thanks for writing

November 4, 2003:
Q: I was wondering if it would be possible to add crushed oreos to the ice cream toppings counter on a regular basis.
A: Can do.

November 4, 2003:
Q: Is it possible if we could have foods like soy cheese and toffuti cream cheese availiable. They are sooo good and make a lactose intolerent persons tolerance with the rest of the world higher: that is they make us able to enjoy similar tastes that your average joe could taste. On days in commens when the main course has cheese, like grilled cheese, maybee we could have grilled soy cheese or soy cheese pizza. But what would be really nice would be toffuti cream cheese for bagels. Thank you.
A: Let us see what we can do about getting this in for you.

November 4, 2003:
Q: Can we possibly try out some new salad dressings like Balsamic Vinaigrette and Greek. The ones we have now are great, but a new variety would be nice. Especially when there is feta in the salad bar...it'd be nice to make a greek salad. Thanks a lot.
A: Can do.

November 3, 2003:
Q: A few weeks ago we had buffalo wings at dinner. They were great! I was wondering if you could possibly serve them more often. Thanks!
A: Can do.

November 2, 2003:
Q: hi- i am lactose intolerant and i was wondering if the hot cocoa machine had milk or water in it? i would love to enjoy the cocoa i just have to make sure I know what is in it! thanks
A: Good news, the machine upstairs in Commons uses water.

November 2, 2003:
Q: I love for the no bake chocolate cookies.. where have they been recently??
A: They were just on the menu last week. Thanks!