Ben Smidt

The campus probably will see a change in its food service provider by June, UW-Eau Claire officials say, which would replace the current vendor Chartwells.

Sodexho Campus Services, a national food service company that is on 15 campuses in Wisconsin and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, most likely will sign a contract with the university in the next few weeks, Vice Chancellor Andy Soll said Friday.

Students can expect meal price rates close to the current rates, free second helpings to all cafeteria food and a third meal plan option of 14 meals a week, Soll said.

Sodexho’s financial proposal, such as meal price rates, was “significantly more favorable,” Soll said, than Chartwells’ plan. Sodexho’s proposal for the fall semester’s meal plan rates are very close to the current ones, he said, while Chartwells’ offer would have been a substantial increase. With Burger King’s contract also expiring this year, university officials wanted to create one contract for all food services to coordinate things better, he said.

“This is the way it came out and we didn’t set out to change vendors,” Soll said.

Ron Markwell, Chartwells director of dining services, said he does not think Chartwells will protest the university’s decision.

“I’m not pleased but it’s a part of being a contractor in the University of Wisconsin System,” said Markwell, who has worked in campus dining services for 18 years.

Markwell said Chartwells has 55 full-time union employees and employs 200 to 300 students throughout the year. He said he plans to look for other employment in Eau Claire if Sodexho signs the contract.