More information has been released about the MarketMatch proposal, in which Aramark will work with the University to restructure Brandeis dining. The MarketMatch project was created approximately three weeks ago and will consist of surveys; focus groups; and intercept interviews of students, staff and faculty, said Vice President for Campus Operations Mark Collins at a press conference. The project is being conducted and paid for by Aramark and Collins is overseeing.

Collins said that MarketMatch will provide "real, non-anecdotal data" to help dining services improve while using pre-existing resources at Brandeis. While he did not state any specific potential outcomes from the MarketMatch project, Collins mentioned that attention was being paid to Charles River residents, who lack a nearby Brandeis dining hall. Collins said that dining services could be expanded to "offering better meal plans, potentially." When asked for more details, Collins declined to comment.

Collins said that the goal of the MarketMatch project will be to re-evaluate dining at Brandeis by comparing student and staff "expectations versus what our [dining services] deliveries are" and creating a dining "master plan" that will restructure dining in a "three- to seven-" year project. Collins stated that he expects preliminary results of surveys and 45-second interviews, which will acquire information about dining habits and expectations from students, staff and faculty, in April.

Details on this project were released after students chose their meal plans for next year.

Nick Smith '12 told the Justice that he has chosen not to be on a meal plan for his junior year because he prefers to cook his own food. He attributed his decision to "the lack of consistently good vegetarian and vegan options [available on campus]."

When asked about his expectations of the MarketMatch program, Smith said that it would be "nice if dining could work more vegetarian options in and open a few more registers in some places."

Stephen Cadigan '13 told the Justice that he will be using the combo meal plan, which provides students with 10 meals a week and $525 in points for the semester, and that "food quality and prices" could use improvement in Dining Services. "I believe that dining services could easily present a wider range of healthy vegetarian options," Cadigan told the Justice. He added that "it seems that MarketMatch would be very helpful in fulfilling the improvement" of dining services on campus.



-Alana Abramson contributed reporting.