After opposition to the new meal plan proposal at American University, AU Auxiliary Services informed the student body that they may be reconsidering renewing their contract with Aramark. Students have had a negative relationship with Aramark and AU Dining services in general in recent years for a variety of reasons. 

Roosevelt Institute at American University wants to make sure AU hears the opinions of its student body. Please sign this petition if you want American University to end their contract with Aramark, and we also ask that you send an email to Auxiliary Services to let them know directly how you feel. Here are the email addresses you should be sending your letters to: apowell@american.edu and auxiliary@american.edu.

We encourage you to either write your own email, or you can copy and paste the letter we have written:

Dear Ann Marie,

I’m emailing you today on behalf of Roosevelt Institute at American University, and as a concerned student about the many issues that students have with AU Dining, specifically Aramark. Despite paying $3,052 a semester for meal plans, students still face numerous issues with the services AU Dining is providing.

There are several grievances that students have about the dining services provided by Aramark at AU. Food options are severely lacking for those with restricted diets. Those with allergies are at risk of cross-contamination due to allergen-free areas not being separated properly, while those with religious beliefs are given a highly limited selection. In addition, the overall quality of the food is poor, especially given how much students are paying per meal. Many students have noticed that TDR often runs out of food, and the food we are served is often cold or poorly prepared. Finally, the hard-working employees at many campus dining establishments are treated poorly, being forced to work long hours, with few breaks to sit down, all the while being paid low wages.

The Roosevelt Institute, and the student body as a whole, demands change. We want to see higher quality food and more options for students to eat—especially for those with special dietary needs. We want to ensure that the money we are forced to spend on food is worth the investment and not wasted by meal swipes that don’t roll over or lack of open businesses when students are hungry. We also want the workers to be treated better and paid fairly, especially given the number of hours that they often put in. Given the high cost of attendance at this institution, demands for higher quality food and better treatment of workers is not at all unreasonable.

We strongly encourage American University to reconsider its partnership with Aramark. We hope to see a transparent process for a selection of a new dining service that will serve the needs of our community better. All students deserve affordable, equitable access to food. Anything less is failing our student body.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME HERE]