With Chase Dining Hall undergoing extensive renovations, Dining Services has had to find alternate dining options for students at peak meal times. Emerson Dining Hall, The Loft, and the Balfour-Hood Café have all expanded their hours and the types of food they offer.
Additionally, a new addition to the dining venues is Wheaton’s food truck, which changes its menu every day and offers American, Asian or Mexican options with meals such as Korean tacos, gyros and Southwest ribs. The food truck also regularly changes its location on campus, although many expressed concerns that it is too close to the available dining options and never strays far from upper campus.
Meal swipe options were also introduced in venues such as the Hood Café and The Loft. Open hours for The Loft, once just for late night snacks, now start at 7:30 a.m. and operates at meal times until 8:30 p.m. It offers a selection of items such as burgers and fries, egg sandwiches and other grilled options that need to be ordered.
Abby Jackson ’17 said, “I really enjoy eating some of my meals at The Loft. Breakfast options are great but a healthier menu could be offered for other meals beside the small salad bar.”
Of all the new aspects introduced after Spring Break, a student favorite seems to be the “Grab-N-Go” options available at the Emerson Dining Hall. This includes packaged sandwiches, salads, drinks and other easy to carry items that students can pick up conveniently. The sheer number of brown paper bags in the recycle bin can verify its popularity.
“I think that the new dining services are very interesting,” said Miranda Shea ’18. “The hike from lower campus upper campus is a bit much, but when the food truck parks [closer to lower campus], it’s okay. I think that they are taking a step in the right direction, although it’s pretty much the same thing … I wish there were more options.”
“I really like how the dining services is trying to give us really good facilities,” Dolma Yangdon ’18 said. “I really liked the Italy lunch. I feel like they should do more country themed lunches or dinners, which would be really awesome because we would get to eat food from all over the world. I also feel like they should have omelets 24-7. […] I really like how they are trying really hard and I appreciate it.”