U of M students taking issue with subpar food service on campus

University of Minnesota students say their school continues to serve them undercooked and spoiled food at its dining halls.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - University of Minnesota students say their school continues to serve them undercooked and spoiled food at its dining halls.

Now, some are demanding changes to the meal service before the end of the school year.

"Students are all outraged," Peter Grutzik said. "It’s all over social media."

Many freshmen say they’ve had enough of yearlong issues with the food served in their dining halls. Freshmen are required to purchase a meal plan for thousands of dollars, but they say what they’ve gotten in return has fallen far short of what was promised.

"I just would rather eat better food," Luke Krukowski told FOX 9. "It’s really not the greatest quality food… it can give you an upset stomach. I’ve never gotten food poisoning, but I know multiple people who have gotten food poisoning."

Krukowski says more times than he cares to remember, after eating the university’s food, he’s walked away feeling queasy, "I used to eat there a couple times a week with my friends, but I’ve tried to steer clear," he continued.

"I’ve never gotten sick from it, but I’ve definitely had some stomach issues," Grutzik added. He says the food service has improved over the school year, but still, on many days when he’s looking for something to eat, there isn’t enough food available.

"We’re spending a lot of money to not get the service and the food that we were promised at the beginning of the year," Grutzik said.

In a statement to FOX 9 on Monday, a representative from the University of Minnesota wrote in part:

We’re sorry to hear that some students have experienced issues. The University and M Food Co. are committed to providing a high-quality dining experience at the Twin Cities campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors, and we appreciate knowing any time someone believes our standards have not been met.

We frequently communicated with students last fall about challenges M Food Co. was experiencing, including staffing, food and product shortages, disruptions that led to modified hours of operation in residential dining, as well as reduced hours for retail locations around campus. Like many in the food service industry, M Food Co. faced significant staffing shortages around the time fall semester began. Additionally, students may have seen different offerings in our retail and residence hall dining locations during this period because many of our food suppliers faced food and product shortages.