Student Government Association held a 'HeAUrd That!' open forum Tuesday, Oct. 15, for students to discuss issues they are dealing with on campus.
Topics under discussion throughout the month are health and wellness and campus recreation, dining, academics and facilities, parking and transportation and campus life.
Approximately 20 people attended the forum asking various questions about dining services, the topic of this week's forum.
Glenn Loughridge, director of campus dining, Bill Sallustro, Chartwells resident district manager, Bob Ritenbaugh, assistant vice president of auxiliaries and Gina Wells, marketing director for Tiger Dining spoke at this week's forum.
Chartwells, the company that manages dining services at Auburn, has been here since 2007.
Loughridge said that he is the voice for students, regarding dining issues.
"I hope to get consistent feedback about dining to see what they like and don't like," Loughridge said. "Because dining touches a lot of departments, I like to make a lot of connections."
Sallustro said the biggest focus on dining this year is to enhance customer service.
"We also want to see what's new and trendy out there," Sallustro said. "If we can consistently change and see what else is new, that's good."
Many students highlighted the issue with the lack of healthy dining options on campus.
The Tiger Dining app on cell phones shows the caloric value of each on-campus meal, except food trucks.
Loughridge said healthy options are a concern, but can be found anywhere on campus.
"Even at Chick-fil-A there are healthy options, but everyone chooses to eat a chicken sandwich," Loughridge said.
Kelly West, a member of the Be Well Hut on campus, created a 21 healthy meals guide available on the Health and Wellness website.
The lack of beef was also addressed during the forum and Loughridge said this is an issue Tiger Dining is currently working on.
Wells said more gluten-free options will be available on campus next year.
Although these new dining options will become accessible to students, Sallustro explained why one dining option is no longer on campus.
Tex's Tacos, a previous favorite among students, did not come back to campus after opening a second truck in Atlanta this summer. According to Sallustro, the owner of Tex's Tacos said it would be too costly to pay rent for two locations.
Lastly, the forum discussed where all the left over TigerCard money goes after the school year is over.
Last year's leftover money will go toward the construction of a 3,000-square foot Starbucks attached to Lowder Hall.
"The goal is to combine dining and social space and that's why Starbucks fits perfectly," Sallustro said.
Loughridge, Sallustro, Ritenbaugh and Wells said they are open to talk to students about their concerns anytime.
Next week's 'HeAUrd That!' session will talk about Academics and Facilities Tuesday, Oct. 22 in Student Center Room 2222/2223 at 1 p.m.
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