Ackerman Union may soon see the introduction of a Healthy Foods
bar as the Associated Students UCLA passed a motion to finalize the
store’s design and construction budget during its board of
directors meeting Friday.
While ASUCLA had originally planned to build the Healthy Foods
bar with a $350,000 budget, it re-evaluated the costs and
redesigned the construction plans so that the total costs would be
$510,000.
The Healthy Foods bar is being designed to serve students
various products, such as the pre-made sandwiches and healthy fruit
drinks currently sold at Tropix and in ASUCLA stores, for students
lounging in Ackerman Union, said ASUCLA Executive Director Bob
Williams.
The Healthy Foods bar will replace Tropix on Ackerman Level 1,
and, if Jamba Juice is not ready by then, smoothies will be
relocated to the Cooperage.
Williams said that they had created the original plans from
typical construction cost guidelines 10 years ago, but that the
design needed to be revised to take rising costs and inflation into
consideration.
A revised, cheaper design which proposed to modify the shape of
the facility to be “more angular and curved” was
rejected in favor of the current design, which closely mirrors the
original design aside from the removal of an overhead structure and
oven.
The creation of a Healthy Foods bar is being done at the same
time that plans for a new smoothie location are being
developed.
Arrangements to bring a Jamba Juice to Ackerman Union to replace
the X-Cape Arcade are being discussed.
Preliminary drawings show part of the lounge’s space
filled with tables and chairs and the other half filled with couch
“pods” that students could recline and nap on.
As ASUCLA works to bring new establishments to students, it is
also looking to modify food services already in place.
The temporary location of Taco Bell in the Cooperage has caused
long lines during the peak hours of the day.
The Food Services Committee is working to shorten the wait time
and move Taco Bell to a more efficient location, Williams said.
After two years of protests against Taco Bell over wages paid to
the tomato pickers of the company’s supplier, ASUCLA’s
Board of Directors voted to remove the chain in October of last
year.
After a year-long hiatus, Taco Bell was invited back onto campus
to its present location, with plans to relocate it to a larger
facility during the upcoming renovation of the Cooperage.
Besides Taco Bell’s earnings, ASUCLA Chief Financial
Officer Rich Delia said finances have been given an extra boost
from rising BearWear sales that are believed to be largely a result
from the UCLA football team’s success this season.
BearWear sales, which were originally projected to be $1.4
million in September and October, turned out to be about $1.6
million, generating $225,000 dollars more than anticipated.
These extra sales have helped ASUCLA recoup costs associated
with rising utility costs and construction of its new food
eateries, Delia said.
While optimistic about BearWear sales, Williams said that the
good news should be taken with a grain of salt.
“I want to make sure we know it’s only an
incremental bump,” he said.
Sales in the computer store have also increased due to sales
associated with ASUCLA’s Apple Computer promotion.
ASUCLA also discussed student involvement in campus
activities.
“There’s been a large increase in registered student
groups to about 800,” said undergraduate representative
Gustavo DeHaro.
Last year, between 650 to 700 organizations registered as
official UCLA student-run groups.
ASUCLA is also forming office hours, during which students can
meet with board members in 20-minute sessions. Discussions can be
about anything that is ASUCLA-related.
Williams said the office hours are an effort to allow students
to better know the organization behind the student shops on
campus.