(Photo/Logan Kirkland)
Despite the different opinions of what fresh food is, students and administrators continue to work together to bring fresher options to the Ole Miss campus.
Students often complain that campus food provider Aramark does not serve fresh food, but Jason Phillips, the senior food director for Aramark, said that fresh food is constantly being delivered throughout the week. Baked items are delivered five times a week, while produce and meats are delivered six times a week.
“We have a constant turnover for what you consider fresh food,” Phillips said.
Phillips said every baked item is baked on campus. He also said that more than 80 percent of the food is actually being made from scratch on campus.
In the new Rebel Market, opening soon, there will be a huge kitchen and things like bread will be made fresh. For example, all muffins and buns would be made from scratch, according to Phillips.
An even bigger point of discussion is which food is actually fresh on campus. With so many different definitions of the word, sometimes students and Aramark representatives do not agree on the definition.
Phillips said there are many things that contribute to the definition of fresh food.
“The freshness of the product is how you receive it,” he said.
Phillips said that food shipped to the kitchen is fresh.
“Chicken tenders for instance, those are battered. They are not already in a friable state,” Phillips said.
Phillips said when it comes to fresh food you have to pay that extra dollar to get that quality of food, but it is worth having these options.
“We try to bring the elements here,” he said. “That’s what Freshii is for.”
Richard Bradley, Ole Miss Dining marketing manager, said Freshii is a very special brand that should make students looking for healthy options very happy, especially with the options they have to offer.
Bradley said Panda Express is another option that gives students the opportunity to have a healthy option of food.
“You literally can get a meal with rice for 500 to 600 calories,” Bradley said. “I was pleasantly surprised.”
Phillips said there are a lot of things that contribute to the freshness of Aramark’s food. He said food is not only delivered often to campus, but there are strict guidelines in place.
Phillips said they use a company for their produce called Fresh Point, which allows them to look further into where campus produce comes from.
Phillips said with the amount of produce that comes in students should not be seeing fruit that is not appealing.
“You shouldn’t see fruit that’s browning,” Phillips said. “To be honest with you, that’s bad on us.”
Phillips said as a company their standards are higher than the government when it comes to food safety, especially when dealing with the topic of recalls.
“Every single person within the company immediately gets an email,” Phillips said. “It’s just to make sure those supply lines are safe.”
Phillips said many people do not understand the behind the scenes process it takes to bring more options on campus for students, and Ole Miss Dining is trying to bring these options to campus as quickly as possible. He said for example Panda Express took about four years to get on campus.
Phillips said as a dining service for the university, they want to serve the students as best they can. He said they were able to give students the option for brown or white rice at Panda Express when they usually only allow one choice.
Phillips said he wants to make sure they are getting the information out for the students. He said they did this by making sure the menu boards have a caloric counter.
“Put the education out there for the student and put the nutritional resources out for the student, and let the student decide,” he said.
Bradley said he wants to simplify the decision process for students when it comes to choosing healthier options.
“One of my goals in marketing is making that choice easier,” he said. “To be able to look at a menu and say, ‘OK there are the things that are going to be best for me to eat.’”
Alex Borst, outreach chairman of Real Food Rebels, said students saw there was a problem on their campus with the nutrition of food, food availability, the freshness of food and the natural content of the food.
“In the past couple of years I think a lot of students would agree it’s been sub-par,” Borst said. “What the university offers isn’t really up to the standard that we would like it to be.”
Borst said he is excited to see the new developments on campus such as Freshii and the new Rebel Market.
“I think the university is going in the right direction,” he said.
Borst said one of the biggest problems Real Food Rebels faces is a large amount of processed food on campus and not enough local food.
“We try to keep a healthy dialogue,” Borst said. “There is a sort of disconnect.”
Borst said both the administration and students want better food on campus. He said ingredients are a more major concerns when looking for fresh food.
“We’re more so trying to focus on ingredients and pass that along to them,” Borst said.
Borst said when looking at all of these new developments he knows many students are starting to think about the foods that they are eating.
“I think it’s definitely a success,” Borst said. “It’s all of us communally, that are furthering the push for healthy food on campus.”
