This past September, an Iona student recorded a video of an inch-worm in the food that he purchased from Vitanza Commons – also known as Spellman – which is one of the dining halls on campus. After news of this video spread across Iona’s campus, Chartwells, along with Director of Business Services Nancy Morano, sent a “Campus Communique” email explaining what had happened and how they dealt with the matter.

According to the email, a quality assurance team from Chartwells investigated the situation, and determined that the inch-worm fell from the decorative plants surrounding the food station where the student received his food.

“[The] Chartwells Quality Assurance Team was called immediately to perform a thorough inspection of the three locations including Vitanza Commons, LaPenta and Starbucks,” Frank Onderdonk, senior director of Dining Services at Iona, said in an email interview. “A policy was [then] implemented to not allow any sort of potted plants for decoration in the kitchen or serving areas going forward. There were no critical violations found during these inspections.”

Chartwells also contacted a third-party quality assurance team, which conducted an inspection on Oct. 1.

Since the incident, one Iona professor and more than 20 Iona students spoke to The Ionian about health and safety problems they have experienced at the Spellman and LaPenta dining halls and the on-campus Starbucks, all run by Chartwells. All of the concerns that these members of the Iona community addressed happened during the current fall semester.

In addition to the student finding an inch-worm in his food in September, four other Iona students and one professor shared with The Ionian their experiences of finding foreign items or bugs in their food at the on-campus dining facilities.

One student athlete – who did not want to be identified because she wanted to maintain her privacy – says she found an inch-worm in her salad from Spellman in August. She did not personally reach out to anyone from Chartwells about the incident. Another student who asked not to be named to maintain her privacy found a six-legged bug in her food from one of the self-serve stations in Spellman this semester, but also did not reach out to Chartwells about the experience.

Junior Martin Verendia says he found a piece of a drill bit in the pasta he bought from the pasta station in Spellman in October. After finding the item, he immediately spoke to someone from Chartwells. They both talked to the chef about the problem, and Chartwells compensated Verendia with a free future meal. According to Verendia, Chartwells’ reasoning for this incident was that Iona facilities was working in the area the night before.

Professor Dawn Ciciola said that she found a piece of wood in an omelet she got from Spellman on Nov. 2. Ciciola also said that the same chef makes her omelet every time, and that chef told her it was a piece of burnt spinach.

Several students also shared with The Ionian that they have found hair in their food from Spellman. Junior Emily Gleason says that she has found hair on two separate occasions this semester, in a wrap and in a salad she purchased from Spellman. She did not report either incident to Chartwells.

“It’s annoying because Spellman is my main food source, and I try and eat healthy and get salads or wraps, but I’ve been so turned off from getting food at Spellman,” Gleason said. “I’ve been forced to spend off-campus money or get unhealthy options because it’s the only food I feel comfortable eating.”

The Ionian also spoke to two students that got food poisoning after consuming food from LaPenta. One of the students, senior Ivelisse Jalil, said that she ate about half of a bacon and egg sandwich from the dining hall on Sept. 26. Later on that day, she began to feel nauseous and threw up several times after trying to eat something else to calm her stomach. She continued throwing up throughout the weekend. She went to a doctor that Monday, who said that she had food poisoning. Jalil did not speak to any representative from Chartwells about her experience with food poisoning.

“Personally, I didn’t reach out to anyone because I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, and I know that they’re constantly getting complaints about something, so I didn’t even bother,” Jalil said in an email. “Plus I was also too sick to talk to anyone.”

Several other students said that they have discovered moldy or expired food and drink items at both dining halls, as well as at the on-campus Starbucks. Freshman Isabel Minnis said that she has found expired chocolate milk in Spellman multiple times this semester, and senior Giselle Fonseca says she discovered mold on a vegan muffin she purchased at Spellman as well as on a bagel from Starbucks in September.

Junior Meghan Wright experienced multiple instances of mold two Fridays in a row in October. In the first instance, the strawberries in Wright’s açaí bowl from LaPenta were moldy, and the next week she found mold on a muffin she purchased at Spellman. After speaking to a Chartwells worker about the mold she found in both instances, she received new strawberries for her açaí bowl and a free smoothie for the muffin she purchased.

“I’d say it was handled well,” Wright said. “I spoke to different people about both incidents, and both people were very nice and offered a solution.”

Three more students said that they had been served undercooked or frozen meat from both LaPenta and Spellman during this semester. Only one of these students – who asked not to be named because she wanted to maintain her privacy – went to someone from Chartwells after she found that the chicken she was served at Spellman was raw. According to the student, Onderdonk immediately spoke with some of the Chartwells workers and said he would refund her for the chicken.

Dr. Marjorie Freedman, a professor at San Jose State University who studies nutritional issues, says that while she can’t speak to the specific instances that are happening at Iona, she believes that these health-related problems that members of the Iona community have experienced are a cause of concern.

“I don’t think what [has been reported by students] is ‘usual,'” Freedman said in an email interview. “I am sure the public health department would find it very concerning.”

The Ionian also spoke with several students who have serious dietary restrictions about their experiences eating on-campus.

Ryan Zaccaria, a graduate student who has celiac disease, and Carlie Brainard, a sophomore who is vegan, both said that there is a lack of options provided by the on-campus dining halls that fit their dietary restrictions. Meanwhile sophomore Julie Stohr, who is vegetarian and gluten-free, said that the amount of options for those who are gluten-free has improved.

“Last year was really difficult, but this year they really stepped it up with their gluten-free options,” Stohr said.

Junior Stephanie DiGiovanna, who has severe allergies to peanuts, tree nuts and sesame seeds, said that a Chartwells worker spoke to her “in a rude and condescending tone” when DiGiovanna asked if the bowl the worker was preparing her salad in was completely clean so she could make sure that she would avoid an allergic reaction. She also voiced her concern that the packages of assorted candy at Spellman and LaPenta should be labeled with more detail, so that people with allergies can be more aware if they are able to eat the candy or not.

Another student – who follows halal – voiced several concerns about her experiences with Chartwells. This student, who asked to not be named because she is not allowed to speak against the wishes of her employer, told The Ionian that she thinks there is a lack of options for those who follow halal or kosher practices.

The student also said that she has experienced issues with food at the dining halls being mislabeled. In October, she found the soup in Spellman was mislabeled – one of the soups was labeled as black bean soup, when in reality neither soup being offered was black bean soup, but instead both were made from chicken broth.

“If I didn’t ask for the soups to be carefully inspected, I would’ve had soup with meat in it or made from chicken broth, which I am not allowed to have due to dietary restrictions,” the student said in an email. “I love having Iona as my home but in terms of the food service from Chartwells, I am very disappointed and feel excluded due to my dietary restrictions.”

The Ionian gave Chartwells an opportunity to respond to these concerns. The company chose not to respond to the concerns individually, but instead issued a statement through Morano and the Office of Business Services.

“At Chartwells, the health and safety of our guests is always our top priority,” according to the statement. “We understand students’ concerns over the most recent incidents. Chartwells hears you and we are implementing measures and processes to deter any future incident. Immediate attention was given and corrective action was implemented during the reported incidents.”

The Westchester County Board of Health inspects all dining facilities on campus twice a year, according to the statement. A quality assurance company owned by Chartwells conducts inspections quarterly, and Iona staff also performs random and unannounced inspections throughout the year.

Several students who spoke to The Ionian about their experiences said they didn’t talk to anyone from Chartwells about their concerns because they were unsure of who to talk to.

The statement says that Chartwells and the Compass Group – the company that owns Chartwells – has an open-door policy for any Iona student or employee to voice their concerns, and that every working manager is available to answer concerns or questions regarding the food prepared and served at the on-campus dining facilities. Additionally, Chartwells has created a direct chat line for Spellman, LaPenta and the on-campus Starbucks that Iona students and employees can text with their concerns.

“Feedback from our students is an important part of what we do and to make sure your voices are heard, we have implemented direct chat lines for each dining area on campus,” according to the statement. “Students are able to text our management team and receive immediate responses.”

The numbers of each chat line are as follows:

Vitanza Commons (914) 202-4420

LaPenta Marketplace (914) 202-4072

Starbucks (979) 541-2978