Chartwells to serve up new food options for Laurentian University students

Campus food is changing at Sudbury's Laurentian University — and some students are hoping it's for the better.

The school is switching to a company called Chartwells to serve meals.

First year student Aidan Lucas, who is home in Toronto for reading week, told CBC News he's happy to be getting a break from campus meals.

"Especially since my parents cook my meals, I find that they are often healthier because they know what goes into them," he said.

When it comes to campus food, "I'm not really sure what's going into the meals," Lucas continued.

"Sometimes they do taste like they came frozen. I'd like my meals to be higher quality."

Morning North6:39New food services for Laurentian University

Laurentian University is switching food service providers and that will mean a revamp for campus food. Ben Demianiuk is the manager of housing and food services at Laurentian University. He explained some of the benefits that will come with the change.

Whitney Simpson, a first-year student at Laurentian University from Petrolia, Ont. said she pays $3,600 for the cheapest meal plan — and usually goes home hungry.

She said she takes the bus to buy healthy meals and vegetables off campus.

"They don't have a lot of healthy options, like veggies and stuff like that," Simpson said.

"They have stir fry every single day. Well, stir fry gets a little bit old if you eat it every day."

That could change when the university's new food provider introduces a home kitchen for people to cook from scratch.

"Home cooked meals is definitely something you miss the most. So I think that that's really good," Simpson said.

Self-serve pantry

Ben Demianiuk, the university's manager of housing and food services, said Chartwells will offer a self-serve pantry so students can cook up meals themselves.

"It will be a stocked pantry essentially with an emerge of food items from eggs, proteins, granola," Demianiuk said.

"There's hundreds of items on the list and students will basically be able to use cooktops and prepare meals that might not be being served in the Great Hall that day."

Along with the self-serve pantry, Chartwells will create an interactive space offering cooking lessons and other activities. It will also introduce a mobile app allowing customers to pre-order their meals and pick them up at specified locations, which is expected to reduce line-ups at peak times.

Prices for the school's food plan are expected to remain status quo until the university talks with student leaders.

The five-year contract with the new food company begins in June.