Jefferson College has hired its third on-campus food vendor in the last 16 months.
The college’s Board of Trustees voted 4-0 at a special meeting on Aug. 4 to award Cardinal Vending, Fenton, a contract that will cover the next two school years.
Board members Gary Davis and Ron Scaggs were absent.
The contract calls for Cardinal Vending to pay the college 20 percent of what the company’s vending machines generate at the college’s campuses in Hillsboro, Arnold and Imperial.
The college will not receive anything from the company’s sales at the micro markets at the Hillsboro and Arnold campuses, said Daryl Gehbauer, Jefferson College’s vice president of financial services.
The Imperial campus does not have a micro market, a self-service operation that offers sandwiches, salads and pizza, among other items.
At their June 9 meeting, trustees decided to cut ties after a year with the prior food service provider, American Food & Vending, citing complaints about the selection and rotation of food.
The board in July 2021 had awarded the contract to American Food & Vending, which has an office in Overland. That firm was selected from four bidders based on criteria such as service and experience, staff reported at the time.
Gehbauer said the five-year contract with American Food & Vending allowed either party to terminate the agreement without penalty by giving 90 days notice.
Also at the June 9 meeting, trustees directed college officials to negotiate a contract with Executive Dining of St. Louis, which finished second to American Food & Vending in the July 2021 bidding process.
“After (Executive Dining) reviewed the finances, they chose not to provide the food services,” college President Dena McCaffrey said.
Gehbauer said that when a deal could not be struck with Executive Dining, college officials contacted other food providers.
“Cardinal Vending was the only one to say they would do it,” he said.
The trustees in May 2021 decided to terminate its contract with Food Services Consultants of St. Louis, which had operated the cafeteria in the Student Center on the Hillsboro campus for many years. The cafeteria was closed at that time and the college went to a self-service system involving micro markets and vending machines.