It’s a new school year and Wooster has welcomed us back with open arms. Almost everything is the same here at our beloved college. Everything except the fries at Mom’s.
Now you may be wondering, amidst all the chaos that is the year 2016, why focus on the fries? I challenge you, skeptical reader, to realize that is exactly why we must think of the fries! In times of trouble and stress, who is always there to support you? Your mom. After a long stressful week, who is always there to fill your belly with comfort food? Mom’s. We all flock to Mom’s because a) it’s delicious and b) it’s the only thing open at 1 a.m. A change in the Mom’s menu has a direct effect on us as students, whether you choose to believe it or not. We rely on Mom’s in a way that we don’t really rely on anything else, especially when times get stressful. Up all night in the library and there’s nowhere else to get food? Mom’s. Your friends left you at a party? Mom’s. Late night cravings out of nowhere? Mom’s. You get the point.
So even though we all love Mom’s fries, why did they change? This hard-hitting question is exactly what drove Callie Ogland-Hand and other members of the Student Government Association’s Student Advocacy subcommittee to go looking for answers. According to Ogland-Hand, over the summer, a select group of Dining Service staff members met with the intention of changing some of the dining options available to students. After sampling a variety of fries, they decided that crinkle-cut fries provided the most potato to students with the least amount of grease.
With the change decided, Mom’s began cranking out its new and improved fries, but with one drawback — the response. Many students have expressed unhappiness in the change of fries at Mom’s, as they are such a staple late-night weekend food. The new crinkle-cut fries will continue to sell until the end of October, when Donna Yonker, general manager of catering and retail options will review sales and decide whether or not Mom’s will make the switch back to the old fries. In other words, if you don’t like the fries, don’t buy them!
All of that being said, campus dining really does want to provide positive eating experiences for us here at Woo. Marjorie Shamp, director of campus dining, wrote to the Food Committee — a group hosted by the campus dining staff that meets on a monthly basis to discuss everything food related going on at the college — that the group itself exists to “provide information to students about campus dining, and also receive input suggestions on ways we [campus dining staff] can improve.”
Ogland-Hand, who has worked closely with other students, including Rie Matsuzaki ‘19 and Armel Lee ‘19, said that, “All the staff are very open to suggestions and when possible, want to make the changes we suggest. The staff wants to provide us with the majority of what the student body wants.” The suggestions placed in the suggestion box near the entrance of Lowry are legitimately read and taken into consideration. At the end of the day, the dining staff truly wants us to be happy with our dining experience and is open to suggestions.
So, what does all of this mean for the return of old Mom’s fries? If enough people are passionate enough about it, there is a strong possibility that they will return. We only have to make it happen. The next Food Committee meeting is Oct. 26 from 5-6 p.m. in Lowry 120. If you feel strongly about the fries or are interested in knowing more about campus dining, everyone is welcome to attend. We all have to eat. Why not be a part of that process?
Emily Anderson, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at EAnderson19@wooster.edu.