Beginning in June, Miami University’s cuisine and dining operations will be provided through Aramark, a national firm that handles food services for about five million students across the county, according to its website. 

According to Miami’s news and events page, partnering with Aramark will allow many improvements to be made to Miami’s dining including new technology, more distinct menus, increased to-go options, and a recipe testing program.

The company also provides food to both the health care and sports industries. It currently has more than 2 million employees and members of the Miami community may soon be able to join that group. 

The university dining services produce about $50 million per year in revenue and Aramark will be paid 1.5% of that over the course of the 10 year contract, said university spokesperson Jessica Revinius. She said Aramark also has agreed to invest $20 million into the university’s food service operations over the life of the contract.

“We are not currently forecasting any increased cost or savings from the change. However, we expect the major benefit of the change to be improvement in the quality and variety of the dining options on the Oxford Campus,” Rivinius said.

When the transition is made, Miami’s dining service employees will be able to select if they’d like to continue working through the school or transition to Aramark. Those who choose to stay with the school will not experience any wage or benefit changes, the university said. 

The university also anticipates that students working in food services will be able to benefit from Aramark. According to Miami’s news and events page, the company has a Student Executive Leadership Program which provides supervisory experience, professional development, internships and post-graduate opportunities. 

When Aramark begins managing Miami’s food, new menus will be developed for places like Bell Tower Commons, which has been open on and off since the beginning of the pandemic. Among other changes, Aramark also expects to advance Miami’s mobile ordering and delivery services. Students can look forward to a taste test kitchen, taking place at Western Dining commons. Students will even be able to provide feedback on the food, according to Miami’s news and events page.