by Mike Carlson, Contributor

Food at Manhattan College is not hard to come by. But how would a student reach out if they wanted to make a change to the food being served instead of just complaining to their friends? Luckily, students can get in touch with people who can make changes to the food being served by using Gourmet Dining’s Chattback feature, contacting the Food Service Committee and many other ways.

Nicholas Valinotti is the Resident District Manager for Gourmet Dining at Manhattan College. He wants for students to reach out to voice their comments and opinions about their dining experience at Manhattan College. One way students can do this is using Gourmet Dining’s anonymous tip line service, Chattback.

“Our Chattback program, which has been in place for three years, is a great opportunity for our community to share their dining experiences with us,” said Valinotti.

“We are always constantly working to provide the best service possible for the Manhattan College.  We have taken the time to reinvent our entrée lines for lunch and dinner.  We ask that if the community has any suggestions, concerns or ideas to please reach out to me via email nvalinotti@gourmetdiningllc.com or by Chattback by texting (929) 294-2282. I will also be conducting a “Dining with the Director” through our dining venues once a month,” said Valinotti. “These dates can be found on our calendar in Locke’s on the TV screen or via our social media platforms @gourmetdiningMC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.”

Students’ awareness of the channels available to them is important to make sure the channels are being used to their full potential.

Nick Impieri, a sophomore studying mechanical engineering, has heard of the Chattback service before.

“I’ve personally never used it, but my roommate has once. He used it to comment on the quality and flavor of something being served at the ‘Expo Station.’ I’ll give Gourmet Dining credit, since the next time they served the dish my roommate’s request seemed to have been taken into account,” said Impieri.

Chattback isn’t the only way students can make an impact on the food at Manhattan College. Students can also join or contact the Food Service Committee, which is a committee that reports to the Student Government Assembly at bi-weekly assembly meetings. The Food Service Committee was established at Manhattan College in 2016 with the intended purpose of enabling a dedicated group of students to address concerns involving dining.

Fatoumata Soho, a sophomore majoring in marketing and minoring in management, is the current head of the food service committee.

“A lot of times I’ll be passing by people and hear them complain about the food and I’ll ask them have you tried going to the food service committee or using Chattback and they’ll say, what’s that? And there’s a place that has been made for these types of things. Complaining by word of mouth to your friends will not make things happen. Chattback and the food service committee exist and are there to serve students. Make use of it.” said Saho.

Regardless of whether or not students’ comments that reach the FSC, Chattback or Valinotti himself are positive or negative, the most important thing is that student voices are raised to the appropriate channels and are heard by the appropriate people on the college’s campus.