As students begin to settle into yet another unconventional semester, Hamilton has been hard at work finalizing the new dining system that aims at addressing some of its shortcomings of last semester. Notably, various changes by both the administration and Bon Appetit to the dining options around campus have been made to improve what many students felt was lacking last semester.
According to Lucy Burke, Director of Procurement and Administrative Services, there was a clear need for more variety among the dining options, so a majority of the changes are aimed at widening the selection of food available to students.
One of the most notable and popular changes is the return of Diner, complete with its former menu, ranging from chicken tenders to sandwiches, but there’s a caveat. Instead of typical walk-in orders, students input their orders through a mobile ordering system operated by GrubHub. By ordering from their phones and receiving notifications about when their food is ready, students can maintain social distancing and prevent transmission of COVID. With this change, the student body has experienced wait times during peak hours as high as two hours, but for many students, Diner is still worth it.
One student who has already visited Diner every day this week reported: “Diner was definitely one of the things I missed the most last semester so I’m excited to have it back.” Another student has a similar sentiment, saying he likes how the GrubHub app is “easy to use” and provides a “much better selection than last semester.”
As Burke explained in an email, the primary objective of this new system is to provide students with dining options while adhering to the school’s social distancing guidelines. However, in regards to Diner, mobile ordering could become a permanent change.
Changes are widespread across campus, too. Some dining halls have undergone renovations, like McEwen, which is now focused on producing vegetarian and vegan meals, and at Commons, the addition of the Simply Oasis line provides a better option for students with food allergies. Meanwhile, Bristol Hub no longer serves food, but the Field House now emphasizes a health-focused option where students can make their own protein bowls. Burke also stated that the school plans on keeping a vegetarian and vegan focus in some of its dining halls even after the pandemic.
Burke does plan to bring back the use of reusable china from before the pandemic since the use of disposable containers and utensils these past two semesters has led to an excessive amount of waste. While the school’s dining costs have been slightly offset by the absence of big events like Parents Weekend, this style of service has still led to a net increase in expenses such as high paper costs and hiring and training staff.
As both the faculty and students continue to navigate the challenges of this unique semester, having more variety in dining options is a breadth of fresh air that will hopefully make these next three months a little more bearable.