The Jefferson College Board of Trustees voted unanimously July 22 to award a contract to American Food & Vending to provide food services for the institution.
American Food & Vending is a national company, but has an office in Overland.
College staff recommended American Food & Vending among the four companies that submitted bids for the service. Their recommendation was based on several criteria, said Daryl Gehbauer, the college’s vice president of finances and administration.
“We had a scoring system on a number of factors, like service, experience, commission,” he said. “Their commission will be 12 percent of sales.”
The contract with the company starts Aug. 1 and calls for American Food & Vending to provide a micro market and vending and catering services for Jefferson College.
The micro market will be a self-service food operation, Gehbauer said.
“It will be both here (on the Hillsboro campus) and at (the college’s Arnold campus). We’ve never had a food provider before at the Arnold campus,” he said. “They offer a variety of foods, from sandwiches to salads to pizzas.”
Roger Barrentine, director of public relations and marketing, said the new food system should fit in well with the college community.
“There will be convenience and fresh food,” Barrentine said. “They have the ability to refresh things on a daily basis. Not only can people get things quickly, but the food will also be fresh.”
Gehbauer added that the company will monitor customers’ food preferences to best fill the college’s needs.
“They can also evaluate what’s selling and what should be replaced,” he said.
Gehbauer said the Hillsboro mini market will not be in the Student Center, which previously housed a cafeteria.
“It’s going to be in the snack bar area of the CTE building,” Gehbauer said. “In Arnold, it will be where the vending machine operations were in the building.”
He said Jefferson College officials have not yet determined what will be done with the old Student Center cafeteria in Hillsboro.
“We’re still evaluating the best uses for that space,” he said.
In May, the college parted ways with Food Service Consultants, which had operated the cafeteria in the Student Center on the Hillsboro campus for many years.