UC Davis looks for partner to provide coffee, interactive programs, opportunities for students
UC Davis Dining Services has teamed up with the UC Health System to develop a new coffee agreement. This coffee agreement will establish a new coffee provider after the current contract with food company Sodexo expires on June 30.
Sodexo has maintained a contract with UC Davis for the past 46 years.
Kraig Brady, director of Hospitality and Dining Services, believes that UC Davis needs to move forward and develop an independent coffee agreement. UC Davis announced earlier this year it was installing university management in place of Sodexo.
“Having a vendor partner that will provide a quality coffee program and support our students and other academic programs is very important to our campus,” Brady said. “It’s important that we seek out such a partner and test the market on what opportunities are available to UC Davis.”
The agreement requires that the chosen contractor provide coffee for campus locations such as the Silo and ARC Starbucks, and for Sacramento locations such as the UC Davis Medical Center.
The Coffee House (CoHo) is independently run and is not influenced by the contract. The university, however, is asking bidders to leave open the opportunity for ASUCD and the CoHo to take advantage of the coffee price that is being negotiated.
The UC Davis campus combined with the UC Davis Sacramento location use about 32,000 pounds of beans a year, enough for 1 million 8-ounce cups of coffee. This requires the agreement to also request for its average annual amount of beans used: 10,000 lbs for the UC Davis Dining Services and 22,000 lbs for the UC Davis Medical Center and retail and catering services.
The university is looking for a partner that will provide not only coffee but also direct engagement with the students. This includes, but is not limited to, annual internship opportunities and/or work-study programs, scholarships, investment in student-led sustainability initiatives and financial and product support for the ASUCD Student Pantry.
The coffee partner will also engage with the new coffee center on campus by supporting the coffee sciences program through funding of industry training, facilities and research.
Arthur Lysov, a third-year computer science major, said he drinks coffee on campus not only because he enjoys it, but also because he feels it keeps him focused. He hopes the new coffee provider continues to do that with its coffee.
“It is important for us to have a good brand of coffee on campus so we can […] boost our focus,” Lysov said. “More than anything we need it to help us through our essays, midterms and sleepless nights spent studying.”
Harshdeep Kaur, a fourth-year neurology, physiology and behavior major, start every one of her days on campus with a cup of coffee.
“Having a good coffee partner is essential to a college campus because college students are heavily dependent on coffee on a everyday basis,” Kaur said. “Coffee is pretty important to me.”
Bids for the coffee contract are coming in for review by the Coffee Partnership Committee, which hopes to make a decision by Jan. 1.
Written by: Demi Caceres — campus@theaggie.org
