“I’ve never once been excited to eat at Higgins,” remarks sophomore Teddy Bowman. I’ve also had a tense relationship with the dining hall ever since my first week at Clark, and many other students have matching complaints. Despite only being a sophomore, I’ve already endured the limited options, slow staff, and a floor that has never not been sticky. All of these aspects make the entire experience in the Higgins dining hall very “meh.” Niche.com, a popular site that is used to rate university experiences, has nothing good to say about the dining hall. In their poll of current and former students asking where the best place was to eat on campus, Higgins scored fourth on the list. The school’s only dining hall scored below the Bistro, library café, and even the “none of the above” option. 

Sodexo was the former food provider for Clark’s campus, serving the school from early 2007 until June of 2024. In hopes of improving the dietary health of students who live on campus, Harvest Table Culinary Group became the new backbone of the Clark University food scene. In an effort to get a more complete view of Clark’s food scene, I interviewed Skye Donaldson, a current senior, about their experience dining on campus back when Sodexo was the primary provider.

What was the biggest change you noticed before and after Harvest Table took over Higgins?

I think the biggest difference I noticed was not finding raw food as much. My biggest gripe with the dining hall before was just biting into chicken and finding it pink and purple and red inside. I got food poisoning twice my freshman year, and then in my sophomore year, it was just crazy. So many people I know got food poisoning, two of my friends had to go to the ER.

With Harvest Table providing food now, would you say you have a positive view of the dining hall, or is it just less bad?

I would say just less bad. The food still doesn’t usually taste especially good. I don’t know if it’s just a combination of the food they make and having cooks with maybe less experience, but the food is still cooked poorly a lot of the time.

Did you notice any improvement with Harvest Table’s staff?

There are still rude people, of course, but they’re so much better than Sodexo’s. I know there used to be a lot of complaints about the staff, so I’m glad it got better.

Are you or were you ever excited about a meal option at Higgins?

Maybe once or twice a month? One time I went in and saw that they had Jerk chicken, and I was so excited– I’m Caribbean– and then I actually saw the chicken and I just… I don’t know if you can use profanity in an article, but I simply have no other words for whatever that was. 

Despite the hope for improvements with the new provider, food poisoning, undercooked meat, and digestive issues still run rampant among Higgins’ diners. “I wish I didn’t have to have a dining plan. Last year, I got food poisoning so many times,” reports sophomore Micah Burch, “It just sucks.” Many incoming freshmen find themselves shocked by the immediate impact on their digestive systems. “Bro, it’s literally diarrhea 24/7,” bemoans a new freshman who asked to stay anonymous. College life has so many big changes, good and bad, but Clark’s gastrointestinal issues are far too widespread to be natural. For a food provider that claims to use the “freshest and most wholesome ingredients,” this doesn’t bode well. This problem isn’t exclusive to Clark University either. Other universities that use Harvest Table as a food provider, such as Springfield College, Brandeis University, and the University of Redlands, also cite widespread complaints about food quality in online forums, such as Reddit, and on review websites, such as Niche.com.

One of Harvest Table’s core beliefs is that “culinary inclusivity is foundational,” as said on the Clark University website, and yet they continue to make decisions that prevent students with dietary restrictions from being fed adequately. A vegetarian junior, Rani, commented, “Yeah, I couldn’t really eat anything there last year.” E.V. Lovy, a vegetarian student with a gluten and dairy intolerance, says they only find nutritious meals that follow their dietary restrictions about 50% of the time. 

Despite notable improvements after the switch from Sodexo, the dining hall doesn’t seem to be making any more upgrades or new initiatives anytime soon. Even though dining is a common frustration among university students nationwide, Clarkies should continue to demand consistent growth in all aspects of student life.