The Dining Advisory Board met for the final time this semester on Dec. 4 in order to review the improvements made to on-campus dining services and to further promote new products and ideas. The meeting, moderated by Kristina King, took place in the Traditions side of Lawrence Dining Hall.
Many new products have been introduced to Larry’s Market convenience store, including new bulk candies along with cinnamon and regular Bagel-Fuls. Larry’s is also now offering 1 oz. cans of AMP energy “shots” for students who may require a boost during finals.
Ram’s Head Food Court will welcome back Baker Bob during finals week on Tuesday Dec. 9th, from 11a.m.-3p.m. Over winter break, Ram’s Head will be installing a new charcoal grille, which will provide much healthier options regarding the grille station, along with possible new food items. Also starting next semester, pamphlets regarding Ram’s Head nutritional information will be available for students, thanks to a student group who composed a student project regarding their menu items. The information will also be laminated and put on display in the food court.
Lawrence Dining Hall will be hosting a holiday party on Tuesday, Dec. 9 titled “Jamaica in December”, which will feature authentic and American versions of Jamaican cuisine. DJ Static, who last visited Lawrence during the 1970’s-themed dinner party in October, will host the celebration.
The china amnesty program will continue through the beginning of next semester. Any student with silverware or dishes from Lawrence Dining Hall are asked to please return them to the boxes provided in each of the residence halls.
Lawrence is also focusing on some changes that will be taking place next semester. The first Performances station will feature cuisine from around the world to introduce more diverse foods to the Lawrence menu. Also, the pizza station is planned to move to Traditions, and the salad bar will be placed on a cycle menu. The first half of the salad bar will host standard ingredients for typical salads, rotating weekly through different types of lettuce, tomatoes, cheeses, and so on. The second half of the salad bar will hold ingredients for weekly “featured” salads, such as chicken caesar or Asian noodle salads.
Though still in the most preliminary of planning stages, Lawrence is entertaining the idea of continuous dining hours, by shifting zone times and adding two more meal zones to the dining day. Students would still be allowed four meals a day, but there will be six meal zones (in Lawrence Dining Hall only). In order to accommodate employees and students alike, the two added meal times would feature a smaller selection of food available after the typical breakfast and lunch times, allowing students unable to eat during the main meal hours to still have the option of eating at Lawrence.
The Lawrence Meal-To-Go program, which had been discussed in previous meetings, is now in the works. More details will be available in the spring semester, but a process will be available for students on the go to swipe their card, collect food in a specified amount of time, and take their meal with them.
There will be no further meetings this semester, but the Board strongly encourages any feedback, positive or negative, regarding any on-campus dining establishments. The first meeting of next semester will be Jan. 29, located in Traditions of Lawrence Dining Hall. All students are welcome to attend and share their opinions and ideas. For information regarding changes in hours due to finals week and other information, visit West Chester University’s dining services website: http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSE/WestChester/.
Tara Tanzos is a second-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at QuadNews@wcupa.edu.