The Great Food Flip Flop Flap
from A I
beth City State V ni verities
remain Shaw clients, as does
Saint Augustine's College. Said
company CEO. Evelyn O. Shaw
? wife of State Representative
and State Senate candidate. Larrv
Shaw ? "Our HBCU accounts
are the backbone and heart of our
business, although we do enjos
the benefits and prestige ot oper
ating the dining services at K.J.
Reynolds in Winston-Salem."
The A&T and Shaw saga
contains some very contentious
elements and provides the most
testy aspects of botched bidding
protocols, accusations of impro
priety, and claims and counter
claims about the ethics and ev?n
the legality of how the $9 million
A&T contract went from Shaw
Foods to Marcorp. a white-,
owned Memphis-based company.
At the center of the imbroglio
is A&T student, body president.
Rasheed-Ali Cromwell, who
"blew the whistle" in mid-August
when the state purchasing office
announced the three-year award
to Shaw Foods. A&T students
protested on the basis that while
they rated Shaw "highest'' after
visiting their RJR operation, they
had actually recommended that
either one of two other vendors
? Jakamont-ARAmark (partly
owned by former Atlanta mayor.
Maynard Jackson) or Marcorp get
the contract.
In late August, the state's
director of purchasing changed
his mind about the earlier award
to Shaw, saying that he "had
newer and more complete infor
mation." It appears that the initial
award to Shaw was grounded on
summary bidding documents sub
mitted by A&T officials, which
were neither complete nor pre
sented in a timely fashion.
However, the key issues lie
far beneath and behind a series of
systems-wide studies conducted
by the University of North Car
olina administration on students'
satisfaction with campus based
services. In one study, discussed
in late 1994, of the 16 public
UNC campuses, three HBCUs -
where Shaw Foods held the con
tracts ? ranked 1 1th. |5jh and
16th in "the percentage of stu
dents dissatisfied v\ith food ser
vices." Even though less than 2(H)
students Irom the live HBO's
r
responded to the. curves, the "sat
is! action" rankings were based on
responses from all campuses
Did a message go out to
HBCUs (and Shaw Foods) from
the General Administration, fore
warning the end-game now.
where Shaw has lost the A&T
and Central contracts ' Are stu
dents more likely to he satisfied
with food services at the "big"
campuses, where v a net \ and
name-brand concepts, such as
Taco Bell and Pi//a Hut. are
commonplace ' More specifically,
is it fair to ask students at HBCUs
the same questions about the
quality of food as asked of stu
dents at the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. Wilming
ton :~Ash vrlIe reensboro, and
Chapel Hill? In fact, of course,
students at different campuses
pay different rates.
The Shaw Food Service con
tract at HBCUs, when bench
marked against nationally based
competitors ? such as Marcorp
and Marriot ? is rife with con
siderations about contestants
headed for the same goals on an
"uneven playing field." Fact is,
there are clear differences in the
ambience of the physical facilities
between white and black state
supported colleges: thus, students
at black colleges may have the
"perception" that the food on
their campus is worse.
In ott-the-record discussions
and in review ot public docu
ments acquired b\ the Chronicle,
it appears that some schools opt
tor minimal menus. thereb> not
using the entire amount ot money
collected lor meals on meals The
difference between what a cam
pus collects and what it spends
for food may be "eaten up" by
other auxiliar> services, such as
campus securits. In those cases,
what the food service vendor
serves and uses to pay for equip
ment and repairs is determined by
whether or not the university
spends the lull amount of the food
service contract on food services.
In effect, students' "dissatisfac
tion'" may be Shaw's Catch-22.
Is the case of Shaw Food Ser
vice's loss of business at NC
A&T and NCCIJ a call for alarm'*
You bet it is! Right along with tHe '
recommendation that state cam
puses "out source" housekeeping.
Shaw Foods' integrity^ if not
impugned by the innuendo and
undercurrents of this outcome, is
at least temporarily set back, not
to mention the real pocketbook
impact the loss of contract means
to Shaw's black workers at these
campuses. Is this just the tip of
the iceberg? In analytical terms,
one is inclined to ask. rhetorically
of course, if it is indeed true that
"white folks' ice is colder."
Ruth Brock
Saints Home to
hold breakfast
The United Methodist
Women (UMW) of Saints Hume
United Methodist Church will
sponsor their Annual Pra\er
Break fast/Serv ice Saturday. Sept
21 at 8 a.m.
The Church is at 1390 Thur- .
mond St. Ruth Brock will he the
Prayer Breakfast/Service speaker
and the UMW 1996 theme will
be "Heal Us W hen We Pray."
Brock is a retiree ot the Win
ston-Sale m/Fors\ th Counts
School System.
She is a certified la\ speaker
of the Western North Carolina
Conference.
She is a member of Saints
Home United Methodist Church,
where she is a member ot the
Senior and Gospel Choirs and
chairperson of the Council on
Ministries.
She is also a member of sev
eral other choirs around the city
Brock is a member of the West
ern North Carolina UMW, hav
ing held offices on the local, dis
trict and conference levels, w hich
enabled her to travel to many
parts of the country. Queen
Mc Knight is the United
Methodist Women's president.
Joyce Irby is the vice president
and program coordinator. Each
UMW member will serve in
some capacity. The Rev. John A.
Moore is pastor.
Hieher Ground celebrates 'Heaven on Earth'
Ihe Higher Ground
Deliverance Tabernacle Inc..
will celebrate their 2nd
Heaven on Harth Convention
and Hol> Convocation *96
from Monday. Sept. 2 3
through Sunday, Sept. 29. The
theme is "Adversity Turned
Into Destiny."
The Honorable Bishop
Elect John H. Heath is
founder, pastor and overseer.
He is married to Janice O.
Heath, who is also the co-pas
tor of Higher Ground Min
istries. They have one daugh
ter, Bethany. Heath founded
Higher Ground Deliverance
Tabernacle the third Sunday
of January in 4-994. Services
began in Gilmore's Funeral
Home in Lexington, N.C.
With the pastor and his wife.
Deacon and Mrs. Michael
Funderburke; Trustees and
their wives. Mr. and Mrs.
Keith Tuttle, Mr. and Mrs.
Lois Diggs. Mr. and Mrs,
Boyee Wooten and Mr. and
Mrs. Paul Leak came together
to "do the will and work of
the Lord "
Since then,- the church has
"moved to higher ground." "On
Sunday. May 28. 1995, the
?I ,
Bishop-FAect John 11. Heath
church moved to their new
location, 11 1 Backforty Drive
(off South Main Street) in
Winston-Salem. A spokesper
son for the church said. "The
Ministry and church are
designed to reach out to the
total man through powerful
Pentecostal worship and
praise and to increase the
knowledge and wisdom
through the power of the
Almighty God." Heath is also
overseer of Refreshing
Springs Praise and Worship
Center, where Anthony and
Alicia Patterson are the pas
tors.
The following are minis
ters and their congregations
who will be featured guests at
the convention: Bishop
Cartrell Woods Jr. and United
Progressive Family; Bishop
F.D. Thomas and Pneuma
Pentecostal Church; Bishop F.
B. Marshall and Christ Cathe
dral Church of Deliverance;
Bishop A.R. Linder and Mt.
Sinai Glorious Church of
God; and Pastor K. Shouse
and Greater Mt. Calvary Holy
Church of America.
Everyone is invited to
"come out. celebrate and be
blessed of the Lord." For
more information, contact
Bishop-Elect John H. Heath
at 784-5683.
Parking Lot Sale
at *.
Goler Metropolitan
5th and Dnnleith
Saturday. Sept. 21
8::?0 AM
? ??
Clothes, Household Items,
Toys,-Crafts, and Plenty of
Good Food!!!
fter side of Sears
WIN
THE VACATION
(of a lifetime)
joinrour U It's o Big Sale (after all)
Exclusive All blazers
Celebration ^ v -s & jackets
25th Anniversary.
The
Most Magical
Event Ever.
c v" plere details
'?Jc:al rules
sale 37.50
Apostrophe
((iMLT^EJIStiElfWoild
? I blouse
V $27
sale
Cashmere
Choose from
V colors in
W sizes. Reg. $80
ll \ Ttmr T? Rrvu mhr, lhi Vf</t"
Sale 'uns through September 28 1996
An advertised items available for sale as
advertised Savings are oft regular prices
Selection varies by store
?1996 Soars Poebuck and Co
Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back