Upper Crust Food Service, the food provider who operates the dining hall at Newman Hall — a private certified residence at the University — failed a food inspection on Monday and received a red placard from the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. As a result of the rating, the dining hall was closed indefinitely.

CUPHD cited Upper Crust for improper cooling, cool holding, hot holding, labeling and hand washing practices. 

CUPHD issued the red card during a reinspection after issuing the food service provider a yellow placard on Oct. 1. CUPHD wrote in the follow-up report that Upper Crust failed to submit a food safety management plan, which was part of the requirements after the first inspection. 

The Daily Illini received reports on Wednesday that Newman Hall’s management team was serving residents fast food in place of  Upper Crust. 

In an email statement to The DI, Jenn LaMontagne, director of marketing and communications for St. John’s Catholic Newman Center, expressed her disappointment with Upper Crust for not being “able to live up to the standards that we expect and that our students deserve in their dining.” 

LaMontagne wrote that Newman Hall was notified of the failed inspection Monday shortly before lunch and worked to get residents alternative food options in the immediate aftermath. This included providing residents with pre-packaged meals sent by local restaurants. 

Newman Hall sent an email to residents Monday after receiving the news; the residence hall said Upper Crust’s staff members committed the following violations: 

• A staff member writing 11/18 instead of 10/18 on a stored item
• An employee opening a box of cookies and changing their gloves without washing their hands in between glove changes
• A log indicating food from Sunday didn’t meet the required cooling temperature on time and was not disposed of
• A prep cooler was documented at the proper temperature, but the temperature rose between the documentation and inspection 
• Tater tots on the serving line were tested at 110 degrees but were replenished after the maximum allowed time had passed, according to hot holding requirements. 
• Grab & Go items were prepped Monday morning for lunch and were held at 40-41 degrees despite the required holding temperature being 39 degrees. 

Newman Hall has issued refunds covering two weeks of residents’ meal plan credits and has been updating them daily. The DI obtained an email Newman Hall sent to residents on Thursday, detailing CUPHD’s communication with Upper Crust.

CUPHD asked Upper Crust for more revisions to its action plan and approved its employees to assist in setting up pre-packaged meals.

LaMontagne wrote that Newman Hall is working closely with CUPHD and is committed to making Newman residents a top priority “to ensure dining at Newman Hall is fully restored as quickly, safely, and effectively as possible to the quality that our residents deserve.”

In an email, Jack Dawson, president of Upper Crust, wrote to The DI that Upper Crust is working with CUPHD and Newman Hall to amend the situation while maintaining good food safety practices. Dawson confirmed the validity of Newman Hall’s statement to residents detailing the violations and wrote that Upper Crust has taken steps to address them.  

“Food safety and quality are central to who we are,” Dawson wrote. “Our team’s recent performance does not meet the standards we hold ourselves to. We’ve reinforced training, enhanced monitoring, and strengthened accountability measures to ensure continued excellence in our dining operations.”

Dawson further wrote that Upper Crust is “committed to providing safe, high-quality dining experiences for all Newman Hall residents and maintaining the trust of our partners and the communities we serve.”

Sofia Parranto, Newman Hall resident and freshman in ACES, said that everyone was surprised at the contents of the email, stating that many weren’t aware of the previous inspections.

“We were all shocked,” Parranto said. “None of us knew that this stuff was happening and that there were violations.”

While some residents are embracing the recent changes to their meals, Mollie Hutchings, Newman Hall resident and freshman in ACES, said the recent excitement from residents will stop as the situation progresses. 

“I feel like with it being new, we’re all kind of like, ‘Oh yay, we’re getting Olive Garden,’” Hutchings said. “But I think after a while it’ll start to be a lot, and we’ll want our dining hall back.”

Since Newman Hall began serving its residents pre-packaged meals, Hutchings says she’s been going to the dining hall less and is buying more groceries to eat healthier food options. 

“(Before) I found out that the dining hall was shut down, I was barely eating out of my own stock of food,” Hutchings said. “But now I feel like I have to go restock my groceries and buy more stuff.”

Hutchings said she hopes that Newman Hall will “have everything under control soon.”

LaMontagne said she knows the alternate food options aren’t a replacement for the regular meal services residents hope for; she said she wants them to have the best options available. She expressed Newman Hall’s commitment to providing support for its residents. 

“We have great care and concern for our residents, and the impacts that this is having on them,” LaMontagne wrote. “We have been in constant communication with our resident and parent community about the situation and the steps we are taking to resolve it in a spirit of full and total transparency.”

UPDATE: Saturday 11 a.m.

The DI obtained an email Newman Hall staff sent to residents around 2 p.m. Friday, which said CUPHD had approved Upper Crust’s action plan for addressing the food safety issues. CUPHD will meet to review whether the dining services at Newman Hall are compliant with food safety regulations on Monday.

After the review meeting on Monday, CUPHD will reinspect the dining facility within 24 hours of the meeting. If Upper Crust passes the inspection, the Newman Hall dining room will fully reopen. Newman Hall staff wrote in the email that they will continue to update residents with weekend meal plan options.

“We are relieved to be able to finally report some progress in the steps to get the Newman Hall Dining Room re-opened,” the email read.

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