LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon University Dining Services has signed a contract with a new dining vendor, New York-based Genuine Foods.

The new deal, which begins Sept. 1, replaces a contract with EOU’s previous dining vendor, Sodexo, which had been in place since 2015. 

Jeremy Jones, director of EOU’s Residence Life and Housing Operations, said it was important to the university to find a partner that caters to the diverse dietary needs of students and diners, and Genuine fit the bill.

“They’re all chefs by nature that really focus on the craft,” Jones said about the incoming vendor, which was founded in 2015 by Jeff Mills, the longtime director of food and nutrition services for public schools in Washington, D.C. 

“Genuine Foods’ value proposition is really about doing quality food that’s less processed and more natural and kind of made more cooked to order,” Jones said.

Genuine Foods has been creating dining plans for 11 years,  with 10 higher education partners including one on Oregon’s west side, Chemeketa Community College in Salem. The food company has experience working with smaller college campuses, including some in rural spaces.

Jones had praise for EOU’s relationship with Sodexo, but noted that state regulations require a contract such as the food-vendor operation go out for new bids when it expires. And he said the idea of working with a smaller company like Genuine Foods was appealing. 

“Sometimes the structure of larger organizations can be a little bit ‘get-in-the-way’ of helping to accomplish tasks,” he said.

Genuine Foods has just over 500 employees, but the collaboration so far has been promising, said Jones, who also believes the company will be receptive to the challenges presented by a rural setting.

“I do believe that Genuine Foods will be adaptive, but we’re just like anybody else in a rural region. Distribution lines are hard, and getting things here and getting things fresh here is a difficult task to overcome.”

An emphasis on supporting the local food economy is also a goal of Genuine Foods, said Paula Reichel, the company’s chief innovation officer. The company strives to prioritize freshness by sourcing some produce from local farms. Genuine already is in partnership with Evergreen Family Farm, located 3 miles from downtown La Grande.

Monthly focus groups and weekly feedback from diners will help to continually shape the project and food offerings, Reichel said.

In addition to freshmen, Genuine Foods also hopes to cater to EOU’s population of international students with a selection of globally inspired food choices. Reichel said the company is committed to curating tailored menus through experimental design and routine feedback from students.

“It’s about understanding the recipes that are comforting, sort of food for those populations,” Reichel said. “And then doing recipe development in tandem with them, to make sure that whatever we put on the menu is authentic to that cultural experience.”

Rolling feedback is also solicited through QR codes that are plastered around the dining halls. 

Healthy choices

Jones said that Residence Life primarily assists incoming freshmen. Helping new students carefully navigate their food options is a vital part of the department’s duty, he said.

“We’re trying to steer them toward more healthy options and get them on the right track, so that they get that brain food going,” Jones said.

But he also noted that items such as chicken nuggets and comfort foods will remain on the menu.

And four established campus eateries will be available with no immediate structural changes; Mountie Cafe, Mac’s Grill, a coffee shop and a convenience store stocking refrigerated to-go items. 

While the total price of the contract is contingent on the volume of diners being served in a given year, Jones said the annual contract is forecasted to cost anywhere between $5 million to $10 million.

The contract will last five years, and allows for two optional one-year renewals, if operations are successful.

Jones said rates for EOU’s dining plans will increase by $200. Plans are divided into three tiers; the cost for the tiers in the 2024-25 academic year will be $5,260, $4,760 and $4,260. The increases were planned before the contract with Genuine was signed, he said. 

‘We did a marginal increase this year and we’re hoping that working with Genuine Foods, we can get creative and find ways to keep those increases from being outrageous,” Jones said.

About 400 students are housed in dorms, and Jones estimated that about 250 of those dine daily on campus. The eateries are also open to off-campus students and community members who can pay cash up front to eat without a dining plan.

With students moving in as early as Sept. 18 and classes beginning Sept. 23, food operations are just right around the corner.

‘We really believe (Genuine Foods) is going to be providing some awesome quality food, and we’re really looking forward to kind of matching that up with who we are as a culture and as a county here,” Jones said.