 "Photo: Joel Kutaka")
On-campus food prices will go up at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa starting this spring if Sodexo gets its way.
“Obviously there’s an impact, but it really depends on the consumer and how they purchase,” said Marc Nakamoto, the Hawai‘i district manager of Sodexo, on the potential effect the price increases will have on students.
A crowd of 16 people, made up mostly of students from the Campus Center Board (CCB), watched Nakamoto’s 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on why Sodexo is proposing a spike in prices for food options contracted by the company. In last Monday’s presentation at Campus Center, Nakamoto said that the new plan calls for price increases at Campus Center Dining, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Ba-Le, among others.
If the proposal is approved, bakery products would see an average price increase of 9.76 percent. Pizza Hut and Taco Bell’s prices would go up an average of 3.01 percent.
Andrew Itsuno, CCB president and a senior political science major, said Sodexo’s actions are necessary.
“No one wants price increases. However, our job at the Campus Center Board is to review Sodexo’s proposal and to see if it’s justified,” Itsuno said. “We feel that they gave a very thorough presentation, and we feel that they’ve justified the price increase.”
Itsuno commented that Nakamoto’s facts about the rise in Sodexo’s utility, health care and shipping costs, among other expenses, were enough for him to agree with their position.
Nakamoto said alternatives to price increases, such as trimming the staff, were considered before the proposal was made. It was determined that the loss of workers would not benefit students.
“We pride ourselves, as much as we can, on customer service,” Nakamoto said. “So we put a set number of staff to make sure our lines are not long, so we could look at employees. But, to us, that’s not the route we are going to take.”
Students responded negatively when they heard about the proposal.
“I’ll probably try to avoid eating on campus more, try to bring my own food more often,” said Steve Mazur, a graduate student pursuing an M.B.A.
With the cost of tuition going up this year, Mazur called the proposed food price increases “another slap in the face.”
Sophomore Sakura Wong-Iizuka, who is still deciding on a major, had a similar reaction to the proposal.
“I would be against it, because prices are already expensive as it is,” Wong-Iizuka said. “I expected since we’re in college, prices would be student-friendly, you know?
“But if they become even more expensive, then it’s gonna be really hard to pay for all these things.”
Sarah Yap, the director of Student Union and Campus Life Services and CCB faculty adviser, said the board will hand over the information from Sodexo’s presentation to the OSA Food Service Advisory Committee. The committee, made up of staff from UH Housing Services and the Office of Student Life and Development, will then make a recommendation to Francisco Hernandez, the vice chancellor of students, who will make the final decision. Yap expects Hernandez to make a judgment in November.
If the proposal is approved, Nakamoto said the impact of the rising costs could be avoided if students choose specials or combos that are packaged at discounted prices. Those who do not follow this guideline may feel the consequences.
“If you decide, I’m only gonna look at these certain line-ups, because that’s the only thing that I eat,” Nakamoto said, “and those went up – then it will affect you.”
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