Editors’ note: This article by Cafe Mac General Manager Chuck Parsons was not in the 2/19 print edition. It will run in the 2/26 print edition.

To the Macalester Community:

This letter is to address concerns that students have expressed about changes in Bon Appétit staffing. As you may be aware, the labor market in the Twin Cities area has been very challenging for everyone in the restaurant and food service industries — there is a severe shortage of skilled workers. Last year, Bon Appétit Management Company had to rely on temporary help, including some workers supplied by Opportunity Partners, while we were struggling to fill open positions. Bon Appétit prefers to have full-time, direct employees, because we invest a lot in training in order to meet our high companywide standards for healthy, from-scratch cooking and sustainability. Since the beginning of the year we have been able to hire 17 new employees — including several directly from Opportunity Partners — in both full- and part-time roles, to support the program changes at Café Mac, Scotty’s, Janet Wallace, and the Loch. We then told Opportunity Partners and another staffing agency that we would not be needing their services at this time. The door remains open, and we may call upon those agencies for temporary help again in the future. Workers from both agencies are also eligible to apply with us for open positions.