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dentspooled $500each forcapitaland persuaded the Hobart administration to givethem achancewith thedining hall Within six weeks,they had increased student participation to a pointwhere thedining was no longer a financial drain on thecollege.

The next year, they contracted to manage the dining hall at William Smith, thewoman's college associated with Hobart These three ambitious ria-style service,but will work with any need the collegehas seniors incorporated their company and named it SAGA — from Kanadesaga, the Indian word forGeneva. And so SAGA was born.

Throughout the state on campuses everywhere, SAGA offers various types of food programs. From snack bars,A La Carte,cafeterias, catering, faculty dining rooms, delis,campus bake shops, country stores or fast food outlets, SAGA is aware of many changing food needs on collegecampuses.

Today,SAGA is a publicly owned company with revenues inexcessof a half billion dollars

SAGA serves more colleges and universities than any other contract food servicemanagement company in the world. SAGA not only deals in collegefood services, but extendsinto hospitals, clinicsand nursing homes, as well as owning Straw Hat pizza chains,Stuart Anderson's Black Angusand CattleCompany Restaurants, The Refectory(a chainofyoung-adult dinner houses)and the Velvet Turtle Resturant

Not only does SAGA offercafete-

At Liberty, SAGA worksalong with Dean John Baker, who is incharge of food services at the college. SAGA provides the style and type of meal plans that the school wants Allof SAGA's menu planning comes out of SAGA's corporate headquarters in Menlo Park,CA., with Ed Pfisteras the director for SAGA atLibertyand his wife Lois as the head secretary. SAGA employs 30 full-time workers and 250 part-time student workers On an average, SAGA spends $40,000 a week to feed LBC students and serves around 4,800meals a day The Pfisters,who worked on other college campuses before coming to LBC, noticed that Liberty students consume more food than thestudents on other campuses.

Student workers must treat fellow students as customers and duringthe dinnerrush that can be difficult. Here,

"The first week we were here, we had a hard time keeping food," Lois Pfister said. "We really noticed abig differenceinhowmuch more food the kids ate here and how much more meal participation LBC had."

The Pfisters explained that what makes SAGA somuch different from other food services is that SAGA maintains high ethical standards in their food quality andcontrol

"A lot of companies come into a place and will be careful about the quality of food they serve, and then after a year of so lettheir standards slip,"Lois Pfister said."That's where SAGA is different."

Even though SAGA offers the students the four basic food groups and a variety of food choices, there are always thestudents who will complain and joke about the food, but the Pfistsers understand that a lot ofthis has to dowith eating in thesame place threetimesaday and having toeatat a hurried pace in a crowded cafeteria.

The present cafeteria wasn't designed for feeding somany students," Ed Pfister said, "and that is why it sometimes seems more like a truckstop."

"That leads to a lot of complaints from students,but we have nocontrol over that,"Lois Pfister said

The Pfisters explained that they don't mind complaints from students and are more that willing to work with them, butthey feel thestudents need to get more involved and give constructive criticism rather thatjust complaining

"We like to get constructive feedback from students, but when they just complain and gripe it'sharderto deal with," Ed Pfister said

Most ofthe students who work for SAGA find they enjoy their job and the Pfisters find the workers are good compared to the other colleges they have workedat

"I like working here,because they make me feel as though I'm worth something to theorganization," said one junior.

"I love working for SAGA," said one graduating senior, "and I might work forSAGA inCalifornia."

"Itgives me a chance tosee all my friendsandI enjoy it,"said one freshman.

For LBC students, SAGA will never replace Mom's cooking, but in the meantime ittriestomake collegeeating a little more bearable

-John Schlesinger

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