What do the next 10 years taste like?
For UF students, Caribbean fast food and fruit smoothies.
UF signed a 10-year food service contract with Aramark, its food service provider since May 1995, last week.
Among several projects, the contract includes plans to add Pollo Tropical and Jamba Juice to the Reitz Union Food Court next year.
Pollo Tropical will replace Capeesh, and a scaled-down version of Jamba Juice will be added to the food court, said Bob Miller, UF's associate vice president of business affairs.
Over the course of the contract, Aramark will be required to invest almost $9.5 million in new and existing food service locations at UF. The university will invest about $7.2 million.
Although Aramark proposed UF receive a 10 percent commission on campus food sales, UF's commission will increase from 10.4 percent to 10.75 percent in the new contract, which means UF would receive about $90,000 more a year at current food sale levels.
Aramark will also give UF almost $1.4 million to make dining operations on campus more eco-friendly.
In 2010, Fresh Food Company at Broward Dining Center will receive a $2 million eco-makeover.
Plans include solar panels, a living vegetable wall that will grow vegetables to be served in the dining hall and a rainwater storage tank that will collect water for irrigation.
Other plans include building a Starbucks at the Health Science Center Library, which will be the fourth on campus, and convenience stores near Rawlings and Turlington halls.
Miller said none of the plans have been finalized, and changes may still occur.
The new contract also includes a clause, prompted by student concern, that obligates Aramark to work with UF to "reduce the number of unused student meal plan meals."
Currently, almost 40 percent of meal plan meals go unused at UF.
Student Sen. Benjamin Dictor, who pushed for the clause, said he is disappointed with it because the wording is too vague.
"It's nonsense, in all reality," Dictor said. "It's been put in there so that way they can say they've done something when, in fact, they've done absolutely nothing."
Student Senate President Kellie Dale, who was also in favor of the clause, said she is happy with it even if it is vague. Dale said there are many reasons why students don't use their meal plans, and the number of missed meals does not necessarily mean students are dissatisfied.
One of Aramark's other proposals was to institute a mandatory freshman meal plan, but UF rejected this idea.
