Campus Cafeteria is the Go-to Option for Students
By Charlie Greco | Observer Contributor
Photo by Batsabee Torres
Faculty members and students are constantly on the run. There’s very little time between classes, part-time jobs and, of course, homework. The result is some students have very little time left to be able to sit and enjoy a wholesome home-cooked meal. In many cases, breakfast or lunch at the Green Street Café can become a student’s primary meal of the day.
Lynne Franciose, the Dining Services Manager, has been feeding faculty and students at for over nine years and knows that, though the café can’t replace mom’s cooking, quality and nutrition is important and the goal is to come as close to “eating at home” as possible. Franciose talked about the unusual challenges of trying to “compete with mom.” She laughed and said, “We could never compete with mom’s home-cooked meals!”
“The staff here at the café is aware that, for some, eating at the café can be the main meal of the day, so we try our best to offer as much of a nutritionally balanced meal selection as possible and of course, variety is very important for faculty and students who dine with us regularly,” said Franciose. “We have students and faculty that come by the café just before closing with coolers in tow. They come by to take home prepared food to provide for a reasonable dinner at home with family that they didn’t have time to prepare.”
As a mom herself, she sets the bar high for the entire café staff and is passionate and hands-on when it comes to ensuring wholesome meals are prepared daily and that costs remain as affordable as possible.
Students Lisa McMaster and Nicole Leeper confirmed that, for them, meals at the Green Street Cafe are the main meal of the day. “I was such a healthy eater with plenty of time to do food and meal prep prior to starting classes,” McMaster said. “So, when it comes to lunch at MWCC, sometimes that is the only time that I can eat a home-cooked meal.”
Leeper said, “Overall, I think the cafeteria food is delicious and very fresh but for my personal life I need to start preparing meals and bringing them to school to save money.”
Students declare that the food is great, but affordability is always an issue. Francoise indicated that the café continues to do market surveys in the local market on a regular basis, even fast-food restaurants are taken into consideration to run comparisons. The results indicate that prices are generally below market at the cafe. Surprisingly, most years, the café can barely break-even to a very small profit. “We are right on the line,” she said.
Franciose has a passion for quality and service and both students and faculty agree. “I’m a second-year student and I’m graduating this coming May,” said a student sitting in the cafeteria. “Eating at the café is my main meal at least three days a week.”
“I work part-time after school at the Leominster Mall and my mother works nights. I’m on a budget and the café is perfect for me,” she said.
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