"There will be a 31 percent increase in the need of what we call 'back of the house help' between now and 2006," he says. "You see what they need for personnel--and they can't find them."

The University hopes higher salaries and benefits will keep current employees satisfied.

"We're Harvard, we give excellent benefits," Della Barba says. "You can't go anywhere and do similar work and get paid anywhere near as much."

The starting salary for a full time cook at HUDS is $12.70 to $14.71 per hour, compared to a 1997 Boston metropolitan average of $11.15 per hour for institutional or cafeteria cooks and $9.47 per hour for restaurant cooks.

Harvard's general service and serving staff fare even better. The starting full time salary for a dining hall checker is $10.54 to $12.04, compared to a Boston average of $7.03 for dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers.

And Harvard benefits for full-time staff members include health, dental, life, and disability insurance, access to Harvard's resources, tuition assistance and paid time off.

Fitzpatrick says Harvard is known for some of the nicest facilities in the region.

"You folks are unique. You don't have cafeterias--you have dining halls," he says.