Chartwell opens menu to student choice

Big Spring is going is going to be getting some new Chartwells options within the next few months, with a series of events to allow students to vote on the changes. 

This year Chartwells is introducing new menu options or as Michelle Morgan, the Director of Dining Services here at Big Spring said,”We are introducing new ideas and concepts.” One of the new concepts is student choice, due to launch sometime in December. Student choice is a concept that will take place over a course of 3-4 days  The students will get the opportunity to taste and vote on what they like.

Some of the new options potentially coming to Big Spring are Flame, Roost, and Butcher & Bread. Flame is a going to be an option where they are serving a variety of assorted grilled foods. Roost will be a station serving an assortment of chicken. Butcher & Bread is similar to the deli that is now at Big Spring, but it seems to be bigger and to have a better selection. Butcher & Bread would involve the deli meats and cheeses being hand cut to allow the students to see the food is fresh.

Morgan said, “If the concepts go over well, we may change one station or two stations. We are looking to bring more innovative and creative things coming in.”

Changes are happening to “keep it new and keep it fresh,” said Morgan. These changes are a great way to get feedback from the students at Big Spring. Morgan said, “This is a great way for students to tell us what they like and what they don’t like.” For example, Morgan mentioned how the chicken bowl used to be the most popular meal served at Big Spring and now the most popular meals served are the Asian Cuisine inspired meals. The most important thing about this whole experience is to figure out what the students like while keeping everything new and fresh.

A change that might not have been noticed that occurred this year is that Big Spring received new pizza ovens to allow for fresh and quickly prepared pizzas.

There will be no optional gluten-free choices during this, due to gluten-free products being high in price. However gluten-free options will be available for students who need it.

Vegetarians might have more options here at Big Spring coming up as well. Morgan mentioned meeting with a group of vegetarian students to see what they would want as vegetarians and to see if she could make it possible. As of right now, vegetarian is an option at all stations but students have to make sure to tell the staff that they would like their meal prepared a certain way. Morgan said, “If we do bring something in we have to make sure we have the participation to support it.”

The prices of the lunches will not change due to the fact that they are determined by the district and school board. Morgan said, ”Lunch prices are evaluated yearly.”

Morgan added,” Student choice is a company program and they ask  certain people to pilot it.” Morgan and the other cafeteria staff decided to pilot this program on their own.