Don’t worry your glazed ham loaf and batter-dipped french fries aren’t going anywhere.

ISU President Gregory Geoffroy announced Tuesday that ISU Dining would continue to provide food services to the university.

Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance, said after widespread review by a 22-member evaluation team, ISU Dining emerged as the best option for providing food on campus.

“The committee decided the ISU Dining plan appeared to be as good as or better than the [private companies’] proposals,” he said. “The ISU Dining proposal was several million dollars better than the other companies’.”

The evaluation committee concluded ISU Dining’s proposal offered the best financial contribution to Iowa State, which ranges from $3 million to $6 million more than the private companies’ during the next five years.

Madden and Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, recommended to Geoffroy that ISU Dining be retained.

“I believe the decision to continue to work with ISU Dining is the right one, from both a financial standpoint and the demonstrated ability to serve our Iowa State students well and enhance the student experience at Iowa State,” Geoffroy said in a news release.

A $25 million operation, ISU Dining operates residence hall dining centers, retail cafes and convenience stores, catering, vending and the Memorial Union food court.

Maintaining ISU Dining’s permanent and student employees was not a major factor in deciding to retain it as the university’s food service provider, Madden said.

“In the end, that was not a significant factor because [each proposal] would all retain the employees either as university employees or if they wanted to become employees of the food companies,” he said.

Angela Groh, Government of the Student Body president and senior in political science, said she considered students’ interests first as a member of the evaluation committee.

“As many employees will tell you from ISU Dining, they are really good at facilitating their student employees well,” she said. “I was pleased that we have a decision and that we will be continuing with ISU Dining.”

According to ISU Dining’s proposal, made public on Jan. 9, “ISU Dining’s current management staff will be retained as university employees if ISU Dining is awarded the contract.”

The proposal also included a promise to keep student and merit employees on payroll.

ISU Dining’s proposal outlined a plan to add a two-story glass addition to the Maple-Willow-Larch Dining Center that would open in 2009 and begin a renovation of the Oak-Elm Dining Center in 2010.

ISU Dining does not provide concessions at Hilton Coliseum, Jack Trice Stadium or Hazel’s Kitchen at Reiman Gardens. Each venue has a separate management contract.

ISU Purchasing received four campus food service proposals before the Dec. 16, 2005, bid deadline. From mid-January to mid-February, the committee reviewed submissions from ISU Dining and private food providers Sodexho, Chartwells and ARAMARK.

Nancy Brooks, associate director of ISU Purchasing, said the other bidders did not incite excitement from the committee.

“Based on student satisfaction, based on the financial health of the organization, there is no compelling reason to outsource,” she said. “Students seem to be satisfied with the quality of food and the service they get. We listened to students and they were not dissatisfied.”

Madden said as a result of the search process, ISU Dining’s employees now know they provide quality service, but face private competition.

“I think they now know they can compete with people in the private sector,” he said. “They were selected because they were the best, not from special consideration.”