The Student Food Advisory Board conducted its first monthly meeting via Zoom with Aggie Dining and Campus Enterprise to discuss the upcoming events and new operations that will take place on campus.
Kwani Taylor, President of the Student Food Advisory Board used an Icebreaker where most of the faculty and staff introduced themselves but centered the topic around food.
After the icebreaker, Jenna Maroney, Marketing Specialist for Aggie Dining, shared her screen on Zoom where she displayed the calendar to show the activities for March. On Wed., Feb. 24 from 11 a.m.-8 p.m., the 1891 Bistro on Campus is having a seafood fest.
Maroney mentioned that the food trucks will return Thurs., Feb. 25 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., and on Mar. 18. Maroney shared that Williams Dining is now offering take-out options instead of dine-in. Students are given the choice to leave with a take-out kit. This kit includes an entrée container, beverage cup, and a cutlery kit. Students are allowed to use meal swipes for take-out but Flex is prohibited.
A female student asked why Flex is prohibited. “The take-out option is used for convenience, not to replace your existing meal program,” said Maroney.
Another female student, Laila Rahman, chimed in to share her thoughts. She expressed that it seemed like the main entrée in the dining hall seemed to always be pork, which she does not eat because of her religion.
Joseph Burdi, Resident Direct Manager for Aggie Dining, responded to the student. “We really try to have what we call a menu mix to ensure that we are not serving pork everyday,” said Burdi. “So if you’re seeing pork everyday or every time you dine-in the operation, maybe we need to take a deeper dive into our menus and see what other opportunities we have.”
Students were encouraged to complete the survey for Aggie dining and share their thoughts on how Aggie Dining can improve their service.
Taylor preceded to open the floor to anyone that had further questions, comments, and concerns.
Hunter Jones, a male student, spoke up to express that he had social anxiety and felt that the dining services should have special hours or events for students who deal with social anxiety like him. He also mentioned that several of the foods at the dining hall caused stomach problems for him over the years.
The main goal is to assure that all students are able to enjoy the food provided for them.
Angela Peterson, Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Enterprise, tackled his issue with the food. She asked him about his food allergies so that she and the rest of the staff could address his situation. She also expressed that in the past, Aggie Dining has made accommodations for students that have health issues or allergies.
Another male student, Trent Burke, proposed a question which stated, “Why does dining hours change on the weekend?” Angela Peterson informed him that the faculty noticed that most students showed up late in the afternoon on weekends so that is why certain places such as Chick-Fil-a, Sub Connection, and etc. opened up. Times could change if more students opted to express this concern in the surveys.
Students interested in attending the next student food advisory board meeting can follow @ncatcampusent and @ncat_sfab via Instagram. Their next meeting will be held on Mar. 16 at 5:30 p.m.
