Students Deal With Dining Options

Some students have been unsatisfied with the dining options they have with their meal plans.

With the partial closing of campus came some changes to on-campus dining.

The semester started off with dining halls only offering take-out boxes to students with meal plans because of implemented COVID-19 guidelines. 

The university then decided in early September to switch to an online semester, which prompted Johnson and Hardwick’s Esposito Dining Hall to close in an effort to socially distance the remainder of students who chose to stay on-campus. 

Now, Morgan Hall’s dining center and the Student Center food court are the two options students are left with to spend their meal swipes on. 

“It has been less of a favorable experience,” Resident Assistant Hafeezat Bishi said. 

Her premium meal plan allows her to swipe at multiple locations and zones throughout the day unlike other students, but she says the options are still limited. 

“I don’t necessarily like the food that is being offered, and that there’s not a lot of options for folks to get,” Bishi added. 

Freshman Zachary Cooter says that he wishes there were more healthy options.

“I wish they had more options that were kind of maybe like bigger dishes kinds of things that were also healthy and not high in calories.” 

Some students have concerns that the food options being offered may not be inclusive of those with dietary restrictions. 

“I do believe that they are trying in order to diversify their options to be inclusive of other people and their dietary restrictions,” Bishi said. 

“But I don’t think it’s enough,” she added. 

When asked to respond to student concerns, Temple Culinary Services stated in an email to Temple Update, “With varied portion sizes, healthy, options, and fresh ingredients, the grab-n-go options maintain the quality our guests expect and deserve.”

 

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