Citing financial loss, the UW-Madison Memorial Union canceled its annual Thanksgiving Day buffet indefinitely. To replace the buffet, which had been deemed unprofitable, the Union will offer Thanksgiving meals to go, which can be ordered on its Web site.
The buffet, started decades ago, originally intended to provide a Thanksgiving meal for UW-Madison students who were not able to make it home for the holidays. However, in recent years fewer and fewer students showed up for the meal. Members of the Madison community came in their place.
\We offered the Thanksgiving dinner in the past as a service to students who might be staying here over the holidays,"" Wisconsin Union director Mark Guthier said.
However, the student response was just not there.
""Last year we only had eight students that attended out of 260 people. So clearly, the students were not still on campus. They were going home or to other family members,"" said Julie Vincent, Wisconsin Union assistant director for food service and retail.
This was a predominantly financial decision, Vincent said. The cost of opening the Union for Thanksgiving and paying for staff outweighed the benefit to students.
""We weren't recouping our expenses,"" Vincent said. ""We were basically paying people to come and eat at the buffet and we financially could not continue to do that.""
The Union still wanted to provide a meal for the students who cannot make it home for the holidays and the members of the community who expected the buffet to continue, so they came up with a solution.
""What we're doing is a Thanksgiving pickup meal, so people can have this in their home."" Wisconsin Union catering director Carl Korz said. ""It's a pretty popular concept. What it allows people to do is take it and bring it into the warmth of their own home and have a nice quality Thanksgiving meal there without having to cook.""
Korz added this option was a nice balance. It is a way for the Union to stay financially afloat, while also serving the needs of the community, he said.
The meals range from individual meals to a full preparation for a family of six. People may order all items a la carte, from whole turkeys to pies. Meals can be ordered on the Union Web site, www.union.wisc.edu, from Nov. 3 to 19. Pickup will take place Nov. 24, the day before Thanksgiving.
