Milligan College’s cafeteria has fallen victim to the disappearance of many cups, bowls and silverware over the past two years. The café once held more than 320 green bowls. Last year there were close to 100, and now only about 10. Director of Food Services Mark Henry stated that thousands of dollars of café items have been taken at this point.
Assistant Food Service Director Cory Edmundson said the green bowls are used at the specialty bar and were bought for appearance. Each bowl costs about $5 to $7, plus tax and shipping. Additionally, Henry and Edmundson order 200-300 cups a semester because so many disappear.
“It’s funny, but it’s not,” Henry said, as he shared a story about a time when he was looking at the café’s dinnerware.
He had noticed there were no bowls and was wondering what happened to them when an employee walked up and informed him that all the spoons were missing too.
Milligan’s SGA Student Affairs Committee gathered with Henry and Edmundson and devised a plan aimed at returning the taken or “borrowed” items. According to SGA Vice President Somang Lee, the idea of having to-go cups in the café came from the SGA suggestion box in Derthick Hall. Henry and Edmundson agreed to this suggestion but stated they would still need students to return the borrowed or taken items. SGA, Henry and Edmundson decided to put boxes out in each dorm in an effort to prevent more items from being taken outside of the café.
“SGA encourages people to be respectful and good stewards of resources that we have because the café is really open to cooperating with the students,” Lee said.
SGA Student Affairs Chair Logan Mink has been working with the cafeteria on getting better food and beverage options, as stated Feb. 20 in Seeger Chapel during convocation. Mink sat with Henry and conjured up ways to make “students happier with the options that we have.”
In an agreement with SGA, the café will allow students to choose what they want to eat on Ticket Thursdays, if the students return the dishes. The return of dishes, according to Mink, would help the café save money, eventually leading to the café’s ability to make changes with the food.
Milligan café work-study freshman Colton Brookshire has been working in the café for about three months. He has seen people walk out of the café with items every day, the most frequent being cups. He has seen bundles of bananas and loaves of bread taken as well, which is against café rules.
According to another work-study student, sophomore Madeline Brama, if they bring their own containers, people are allowed to take water from the café. Regardless, she sees students leaving with coffee, soft drinks and sometimes Powerade.