Ask W&M to Fix the Food!

I find the food offerings unsafe due to poor food safety practices and general inability to honor food allergies and intolerances, lacking nutritional balance and variety with very narrow Cafe hours and few open locations. I'm shocked and disgusted that such a world-renowned college does not provide high quality fuel so students can perform in and out of the classroom. Discontinue the Sodexo contract and/or make them provide a better product. But I'm thinking it's not all the food vendor's fault, because substandard fare has been at W&M for quite some time. I think it's lack of investment in on-site food service locations, proper equipment and clear expectations for high quality product. For a highly stressed student population, food builds immunity, allows for focus, improves mood through blood glucose maintenance and provides the general ability to live. Remember disordered eating can flare with high stress and casual meal skipping into an unwanted coping strategy. This does not support the health and well-being message families and students received in orientation and other discussions/online materials. Please do better! I'd be happy to be a part of the solution. I am a dietitian with food service knowledge, but I focus on medical nutrition therapy and patient education in the clinical setting.

W&M this is unacceptable. Get your sh….t together

Parent class of 2025. Our students deserve better for what we are paying to the college. Lack of action and change to concerns are a signal of indifference by leadership. Ignoring problems is easy, addressing them shows true leadership.

My daughter has sent various photos and descriptions of the food she has been served on campus. She's had a number of stomach issues which mysteriously vanish when she is home on breaks. There is no excuse for such poor quality food. None.

As a ServSafe certified specialty food business owner and former waiter and bartender, I am absolutely astonished that a firm like Sodexo is letting this happen. Quality and taste of the food aside, these are very basic food safety principles that are not being followed. UVA, VCU & JMU don’t have these issues, why W&M? Fix this before it gets further escalated. Food safety & dining services are the last things our students need to be worrying about.

Something needs to be done. Being served raw chicken once is bad but it has happened so many times you can’t even order any dish with chicken anymore. Unacceptable. Also, how hard is it to serve crispy fresh lettuce- that isn’t warm, wilted or frozen and also remember to wash your veggies-I have pictures of dirt on a mushroom that my daughter was served- and I am not talking a little piece of dirt- you could have planted the mushroom again. If you wouldn’t eat it yourself- don’t serve it.

The food can use a lot of improvement, and I think the school knows it.

The quality of the food in the dining halls is atrocious. As a D1 athlete who is, literally, working out 20+ hours a week, my son needs sufficient nutrition. He is NOT getting this through the W&M dining services. Serious remedies need to be implemented ASAP.

This is sorely needed

The Freshman -15 should not mean an unwelcome, unavoidable weight loss one’s freshman semester because of the Caff and Sadler food. Yes, supply chains and worker absences make foodservice a tough business. Other public universities in Virginia and elsewhere are doing more and better. Please consider other approaches.

Looking forward to finding a common ground between dinning options. the students, the parents, and the College of William & Mary. Thank you.

We expect that William & Mary can do better and more their students. Healthy food options for all is essential to the well-being of every student. At each dining facility, for every meat entree, there needs to be an equivalent vegetarian option. Vegetarian students should not have to rely on just the salad bar to eat...and as a reminder, salad bars do not regularly contain protein options! Dining staff needs to be receptive & responsive to students - not treat them rudely when they are asking questions or requesting assistance.

The current situation is completely unacceptable. I am now paying for my daughter to eat restaurant and dorm-cooked food so as to avoid the horrible food available under her meal plan.

It is beyond time for a change.

My son graduated in 21, but his experience with a WM meal plan was terrible.

Don’t forget parent to pay for sub par services

We knew W&M isn’t known for food. In fall of 2020 it was worse than expected but we excused it based on the struggles with COVID. But it has become downright dangerous for students and a huge waste of money for parents. W&M is the most expensive public school in the state and there is no reason r can’t do better!

Agree with all of these comments. Our children deserve better. Dining prices are not cheap, and having to supplement meals outside of campus is unnecessary, and adds to the overall financial sustainment for our students.

Hoping this helps!

Time to provide WM students with consistent proper meals and for the administration to show they actually care about our kids! And at the very least-no more health code violations!