Introduction
Our first and primary Oral History interview was conducted with Mr. Brian Flynn, the General Manager of Sodexo Inc. at Rowan University. Sodexo is the primary and truly the sole food provider on Rowan's campus and is the main component in attempting to understand the food and the eating community at Rowan as a whole. The interview was conducted by group members Ashley Shropshire and myself in Mr. Flynn's office in the Rowan University Student Center. In addition to our other two group members not being able to make it to the interview given their schedules, two of us conducting the interview was a conscious decision as we did not want to overwhelm Mr. Flynn by presenting him with four students asking questions which could have been interpreted as slightly more confrontational and less conversational.
Our primary goal for the interview was to discover more about the food at Rowan and its origins, but we remained open to other topics because at the time our general purpose was still debatable. As the conversation progressed and we moved past discovering about the food at Rowan, the three of us talked more about the general populous at Rowan and what they expect from their food. We touched primarily on the health factor of many options, their pricing, and then finally the vegetarian and health-conscious population on campus. This final subject became the one we would explore the most and became much more interesting as we delved into what Mr. Flynn thought about vegetarian's options at Rowan versus what students might expect or want to have. From this, a new primary topic seemingly emerged and transformed our primary research question from "Where does the food at Rowan come from?" to "What is it like to be a vegetarian at Rowan?" or, more generally, "What is it like to be a vegetarian, or just a health-conscious student, on a college campus today?"
For this reason, much of our prior research and sources were rendered void and necessitated a near total overhaul of our approach to the project as a whole.
Our primary goal for the interview was to discover more about the food at Rowan and its origins, but we remained open to other topics because at the time our general purpose was still debatable. As the conversation progressed and we moved past discovering about the food at Rowan, the three of us talked more about the general populous at Rowan and what they expect from their food. We touched primarily on the health factor of many options, their pricing, and then finally the vegetarian and health-conscious population on campus. This final subject became the one we would explore the most and became much more interesting as we delved into what Mr. Flynn thought about vegetarian's options at Rowan versus what students might expect or want to have. From this, a new primary topic seemingly emerged and transformed our primary research question from "Where does the food at Rowan come from?" to "What is it like to be a vegetarian at Rowan?" or, more generally, "What is it like to be a vegetarian, or just a health-conscious student, on a college campus today?"
For this reason, much of our prior research and sources were rendered void and necessitated a near total overhaul of our approach to the project as a whole.
Brian Flynn
Within the course of a year at Rowan University, a wealth of decisions have to be made, not the least of which is what food students are going to be provided. For this, the college turns to Sodexo, a supplier with its home in France but its roots very much in the communities that it serves. Brian Flynn, General Manager for Sodexo Services at Rowan oversees the operations of the company on-campus and works with his peers and the student body in order to offer the community the best that he can.
Flynn's explanation of the process is detailed but, he says, it all comes down to the idea that the company has to evolve with its consumers. Since he arrived in 2007, Flynn has seen the renovation of the grill/deli Profs Place, the complete overhaul of the Food Court, and the addition of numerous parts to the student cafeteria, the Marketplace. Each of these changes was made for the specific reason that students desired change, and while they seemingly always will (develop new needs to combat new options) Flynn and his staff have kept up with students for 5 years and show no signs of stopping.
When students call for fresh foods, Sodexo provides the best they can. receiving shipments of breads, dairy, fruits, and vegetables usually 6 times a week, three to four of which are fairly large in size. When the community calls for locally grown produce, Sodexo obliges as much as they can, gathering in-season crops from nearby county farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and shipping in what they can't from the most trustworthy places they can find. Indeed it is a Sodexo company requirement in North American markets that a minimum of 30% of food served at a specific location must be fresh and produced in the immediate area. For this reason, Flynn is also very open to answering questions because, he believes, the company has nothing to hide or disguise. Rather he welcomes the criticism and shares openly with students the origins of their food. Numerous signs have begun to crop up around campus, most notably in the Marketplace that indicate what the company is doing to provide the best quality and even their advances when it comes to being more environmentally sound and sustainable.
Flynn realizes continually that the cycle of student demand will truly never end. In his time here, he's adapted to numerous concepts but has begun to believe that students just want to see healthy food, rather than eat it, and that they would be satisfied knowing that it is there until they feel as though their options still aren't varied enough and necessitate even more change. One of the most important things Flynn believes are fresh eyes and new opinions, which he has had his share of in his time at Rowan.
Coming into the job, he says that (as one small example) the salad station in the Food Court served a paltry 30 to 40 salads a day, whereas now the same station services nearly 800 students per day. Admittedly some of these might be repeat customers, but Flynn points to the increase in those served as an indicator that the changes being made aren't all for naught. Rather, there are new students coming to the university who are prepared to utilize and benefit from the changes brought about by those before them.
The freshness of the food isn't the only thing that matters to Sodexo at Rowan, but also the youth and willingness to initiate change among the minds of the student body. Until every student is satisfied, Flynn says the process is one of continual change that he hopes will always move the company and the community in the proper direction, for the benefit of all involved parties.
Flynn's explanation of the process is detailed but, he says, it all comes down to the idea that the company has to evolve with its consumers. Since he arrived in 2007, Flynn has seen the renovation of the grill/deli Profs Place, the complete overhaul of the Food Court, and the addition of numerous parts to the student cafeteria, the Marketplace. Each of these changes was made for the specific reason that students desired change, and while they seemingly always will (develop new needs to combat new options) Flynn and his staff have kept up with students for 5 years and show no signs of stopping.
When students call for fresh foods, Sodexo provides the best they can. receiving shipments of breads, dairy, fruits, and vegetables usually 6 times a week, three to four of which are fairly large in size. When the community calls for locally grown produce, Sodexo obliges as much as they can, gathering in-season crops from nearby county farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and shipping in what they can't from the most trustworthy places they can find. Indeed it is a Sodexo company requirement in North American markets that a minimum of 30% of food served at a specific location must be fresh and produced in the immediate area. For this reason, Flynn is also very open to answering questions because, he believes, the company has nothing to hide or disguise. Rather he welcomes the criticism and shares openly with students the origins of their food. Numerous signs have begun to crop up around campus, most notably in the Marketplace that indicate what the company is doing to provide the best quality and even their advances when it comes to being more environmentally sound and sustainable.
Flynn realizes continually that the cycle of student demand will truly never end. In his time here, he's adapted to numerous concepts but has begun to believe that students just want to see healthy food, rather than eat it, and that they would be satisfied knowing that it is there until they feel as though their options still aren't varied enough and necessitate even more change. One of the most important things Flynn believes are fresh eyes and new opinions, which he has had his share of in his time at Rowan.
Coming into the job, he says that (as one small example) the salad station in the Food Court served a paltry 30 to 40 salads a day, whereas now the same station services nearly 800 students per day. Admittedly some of these might be repeat customers, but Flynn points to the increase in those served as an indicator that the changes being made aren't all for naught. Rather, there are new students coming to the university who are prepared to utilize and benefit from the changes brought about by those before them.
The freshness of the food isn't the only thing that matters to Sodexo at Rowan, but also the youth and willingness to initiate change among the minds of the student body. Until every student is satisfied, Flynn says the process is one of continual change that he hopes will always move the company and the community in the proper direction, for the benefit of all involved parties.