This story was originally published in Vol. 34, Issue 3 (November 2023)
Before the pandemic, WSU Vancouver’s full-service cafeteria was shut down, and has remained closed since, replaced with a self-serve convenience market. In an October Campus Council meeting, WSU Vancouver Chancellor Mel Netzhammer commented on the café, estimating that it would take at least two years before a full service cafeteria could be re-established. In an interview with The VanCougar, Chancellor Netzhammer shared his insights on food options and budget considerations.
Q: Can you explain, in detail, why the full service cafeteria shut down and has remained that way?
A: “So there were really two reasons. One was the pandemic, we just weren’t on campus and the food service on campus is an auxiliary. It should be self-sustaining with the money it raises. As we were leading up to the pandemic, we were losing between $40,000 and $70,000 a year and so when we came back from the pandemic, we didn’t see a path where it would pay for itself, or where we wouldn’t lose even more revenue… So low enrollment and the cost of food, that has always been an issue for us. When I would meet with students, they would say ‘we want to be able to get a burger and fries for six bucks.’ Pretty much in the last decade, it’s been much more expensive than that. But what students have said they’re willing to pay, and what we would have to charge has always been an issue, hence deficits for a number of years. The answer to your question is, it’s the combination of those two things.”
Q: Are there any opportunities that seem feasible to deliver more food options?
A: “I think that there are some options available that I think would be really appealing to the campus community that are sensitive, and so I can’t talk about them in real detail yet, but [they’re] things that would bring a coffee shop, or other kinds of things that students have asked for in the past to campus.”
Q: Are food trucks a feasible option for campus?
A: “When we have done certain events on campus, the Student Activities Board has brought in a food truck, and in those instances they underwrite the whole cost of that. That makes the food trucks willing to come because it’s no risk for them… We’ve had conversations about food trucks a lot in the past and the volume just hasn’t been attractive, and they want the opportunity to come and have a pad. Most food trucks are not mobile where they come in and go home. They want to be able to set up and have connections to water and plumbing, and so we’re not able to really provide that. That’s why when we do have food trucks that come for a day, [it’s] for a particular activity when we know there will be a lot of students. I think there may be more opportunities to think about those kinds of things, to partner with the administration and students on having those kinds of opportunities a little bit more frequently than we do now.”
Q: Where does the Canteen Micro Market fall into place should we get a full-service cafeteria?
A: “One of the nice things about our agreement is that it doesn’t stop us from doing other things. When we’re ready to bring back the cafe, it has to be at the end of the contract with Canteen. So that’s their space as long as we have the contract, but there is nothing in the contract that’s exclusive. So we could do something somewhere else on campus, like if we could set up a coffee shop somewhere else. There’s nothing that would prohibit us from doing that with the contract that we have… and even [if] we brought back full service, they might be interested in having the self-serve market somewhere else on campus, or scale down so that when the cafe is not open, students still have options.”
Q: WSU Athletics currently has a deficit over $10 million. Will this affect funding for our campus in any regard?
A: “So we were talking about an auxiliary right? Food services are an auxiliary. It needs to pay for itself. Parking is an auxiliary, it needs to pay for itself, so that’s why people pay for parking… Those have to be self-sustaining. Same thing with childcare, those are the three auxiliaries on our campus. When you go to Pullman, there are many auxiliaries, the residence halls, the dining services, all of these things that ultimately have to pay for themselves. Athletics is one of those, and so athletics needs to raise the money that it pays. It’s a different shade of auxiliary but the principle still holds… ultimately, athletics has to pay for itself, so the impact on our campus should be zero. The impact on the Pullman campus should be zero. I don’t know if it will be or not, but ultimately athletics is going to have to address its budget, which is going to be very difficult to do.”
Q: In your opinion, what other major challenges does WSU Vancouver face?
A: “We are facing enrollment challenges. We have a fundraising goal to support our new building that we need to complete. They’re all good challenges. We want to serve our students as best we can and really prepare them academically, ready to be active citizens. The world is changing dramatically, the political environment is kind of toxic at times, and those things have an impact on our students. They have an impact on our faculty and staff. And so yeah, there are a lot of challenges, but it’s good work and I’m really proud of what this campus community, our students, our faculty, our staff, and our administration together accomplish.”
Norman is a senior majoring in Integrated Strategic Communications and Digital Technology & Culture.