Photo by Annalise Anderson | The Crow’s Nest
By Riley Benson
After over two decades of working together, Aramark and the University of South Florida are parting ways, according a statement released in October.
Aramark, which manages the dining, food services and facilities aspects of the university across all campuses, will be replaced by Compass Group USA. Southeast Services Corporation, a sector of Compass, took over facilities on Dec. 1, with Chartwells Higher Education, another sector of Compass, taking over dining on July 1, 2025.
Despite the transition news being released earlier this semester, Aramark-managed facilities, like USF St. Petersburg’s The Nest, USF Tampa’s Hub, Bento Sushi, Subway, Burger Fi and Starbucks received “unsatisfactory” reports as recently as this November from the Florida Health Department.
“Unsatisfactory” reports mean that the violations at food service locations were a significant threat to public health and sanitation and require correction before the next routine inspection, according to the Health Department’s site.
The Nest was inspected earlier this summer on June 19, months prior to the announcement of the university switching to Compass.
USF has made no official statement about any health violations involving the campus dining facilities.
However, in a press release from Oct. 23, USF thanked Aramark for the company’s long-term partnership with the school and “will continue to foster a positive relationship with them through this transition.”
Chartwells manages food services at other major universities like New York University and University of Florida (UF).
With the switch to Chartwells, USF anticipates having more options in dining halls and other food service locations for those with allergies and dietary restrictions. Chartwells also plans to focus on sustainability by making the commitment to local purchasing “a priority both through local producers and partnerships with local restaurants.”
Noticeably, no changes in meal plan pricing are currently expected to happen for summer and fall 2025 or spring 2026.
In USF’s press release, the university stated that “all transitioning USF dining and facilities team members will be provided with an opportunity to remain in their current roles with total compensation that is equal to or better than what they receive today.”
An anonymous source at the university stated that while the source was offered to either continue at USF with Compass or stay with Aramark but leave the university. A similar offer was not made to all employees according to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay (CL).
On the “Welcome to Chartwells at USF” website, the company stated that “hourly team members will remain the same as part of the transition,” and that staff will keep their current rate of pay.
Moreover, most were not notified ahead of time and learned of the transition news alongside students, staff and faculty.
Compass Group is in further controversy with USF over the change, as the decision to switch from Aramark to Compass “will also privatize the jobs of 400 state employees in custodial, grounds-keeping and maintenance work,” according to CL.
USF stated that switching to Compass is “projected to be worth $320 million in cost savings and additional revenue” for the university. Yet, critics of privatization argue that the move could lead to negative effects on service quality and employee treatment.
Although, according to studies, the effects of privatization on service quality is still mixed.
At other universities, earlier this year The Independant Florida Alligator, UF’s student newspaper, reported that Chartwells laid off dozens of employees prior to the start of the summer semester, leaving many to scramble.
Chartwells is relatively new to UF, as they had only been introduced to the school in 2022 after replacing Aramark as the university’s service provider as well.
