Monday’s announcement that Clark has chosen Harvest Table Culinary Group as the University’s new hospitality partner came after extensive deliberations among members of the Food Service Operations Committee.

Two of the most important voices in the room during those discussions belonged to members who most directly represented the interests of Dining Services’ largest — and hungriest ­— clientele: Clark students.

Ashley Gast ’27 and Sapna Gupta, MBA ’25, contributed the student perspective to the selection process, which included evaluating the bids from a number of vendors, working with consultants, learning about Clark’s dining operations, and attending presentations by companies vying for the dining contract.

Harvest Table will take over dining operations on June 1 from Sodexo, which has served Clark since 2007.

Gast, an environmental science major from Nebraska who serves on Student Council, said she was impressed with Harvest Table’s efforts toward reducing food waste and tracking the amount of energy that’s consumed in their operations, as well as their commitment to local sourcing and helping Clark address issues of food insecurity on campus. “Students want more transparency with food service operations,” Gast said. “Harvest Table shares their metrics with students.”

Gupta, a citizen of India who is studying business analytics and works as a graduate assistant in the School of Management, appreciated the “openness and inclusiveness” of Harvest Table’s approach, including their commitment to hiring student workers. “On-campus jobs are very important to Clark students, including international students,” she said.

Harvest Table has offered Sodexo hourly dining employees the opportunity to continue working with Clark, and Harvest Table will continue the pay and benefits structure in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement covering dining employees. Over the coming weeks, the Harvest Table team will be hosting events for current employees to ensure a smooth and welcoming transition.

Gast and Gupta agreed that retaining current employees is an important provision for Clark’s students, who interact daily with Sodexo workers. Gupta noted that she has fielded a number of questions about specific employees and whether they will choose to remain on staff once the transition is complete.

“Students love the people in the dining hall and did not want to see them lose their jobs,” Gast added. “Maintaining staff was very important — honestly, it was a make-or-break issue from the student side.”

In Monday’s announcement, Danielle Manning, executive vice president and CFO, and Kamala Kiem, associate provost for student success and dean of students, noted that “the committee was very impressed with the alignment of Clark and Harvest Table’s vision, mission, and values, as well as proposed improvements to our food offerings and dining areas.”

They said that Harvest Table “will be creating new and exciting dining experiences at Higgins, the Bistro, and Cougar Café as well as a thoughtful and comprehensive catering program. The Harvest Table culinary team focuses on chef-driven menus bursting with local, responsibly sourced, clean, and wholesome ingredients. These authentic ingredients are then whipped up for scratch-made, delicious meals that provide opportunities for exciting experiential and health-forward learning to encourage students to eat and live well. Students and the campus community will have full transparency into all nutritional and allergen information through clear and easily accessible digital menus.”

Next fall, they said, Harvest Table will offer a number of dining enhancements, including late-night favorite food options, mobile ordering, and ongoing seasonal menu development “based on guest feedback, emerging trends rooted in health, and well-being commitments.” Immersive events including monthly farm-to-table dinners, WOW events, pop-ups, and registered dietitian events will also be on the table.

“I’m very particular about my food,” Gupta said. “It’s got to be tasty and healthy. That’s the vibe I get from them.”

Gast said she’s adopting a wait-and-see attitude about the transition, but remains excited by the prospect of change in the dining hall.

“They are very Clarkie,” Gast said of Harvest Table. “We’re a small school and they’re a small company. The things that matter to them are the things that matter to Clark students.”