The increase in student population, along with the campus lifting Covid-19 restrictions, has made the lines for food on campus longer than ever. As a result, students at N.C. A&T have expressed their frustrations and concerns about the ongoing issues and what changes they hope to see.

Students living in residence halls are required to purchase a meal plan. Many include the use of swipes at Williams Dining Hall and The Marketplace and many of the fast food chain options available on campus including McCallister’s Deli, Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, Sub Connection, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Paavo’s Pizza, Qdoba, Aggie Wings & Cafe, 1891 Revolution and Paavo’s Pizza.

In October 2021, N.C. A&T partnered with Starship, a robot food delivery service to incorporate self-driving delivery robots to students and staff on campus. These robots allow students to order food through a mobile app and the robots will deliver to their set location.

“I only really use the robots when it’s raining outside, but I think they are a cute addition to campus,” sophomore biology student Imani Bailey said.

Despite all the options on campus, students still feel unable to find time to eat between classes due to such long wait times.

 “I do not understand why Williams Dining Hall and The Marketplace are both closed from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.” freshman business administration student Brianna Daniels said. “All of my classes end at 2:00, so by the time I am ready to eat, neither dining hall is open and I am forced to use my flex dollars.” 

It is a common phenomenon for students on campus to spend all of their flex dollars before the semester is over. Unfortunately, this semester it seems to be due to not having the ability to wait in long lines at the dining halls. 

“During my first year at N.C. A&T, I spent all my flex by homecoming week,” Bailey said. “I also spent way too much money on DoorDash due to not wanting to wait in long lines.” 

Many college students have turned to using food delivery services like DoorDash, Grubhub and UberEats to deliver food when dining options on campus are not available.

Sophomore biology student, Micheal Bethune, stresses his concerns about the lack of breakfast based options available on campus in the mornings. 

“Breakfast is kind of crazy here,” Bethune said. “I think we should have both Marketplace and Williams open in the morning. There are too many students here for just one dining hall to be open during that time.” 

In addition to the odd dining hours on campus, students also have concerns about the lack of variety in dining options available on campus.

“I wish we had a smoothie place on campus,” Bethune said. “Many people drink smoothies, but they are only offered at Williams Dining Hall in the mornings.” 

Sophomore business administration student, Kevin Rogers, has similar suggestions for new additions to the dining options on campus. 

“We have enough cafes, sandwich shops, and chicken spots to eat on campus,” Rogers said. “We need something different, like a diner.” 

On Aug. 17, 2022,  N.C. A&T officially opened another dining option on campus, Martin’s Cafe. The cafe is located in the Harold L. Martin Sr. Engineering Research and Innovation Complex The complex celebrated its official grand opening on Feb. 17, 2022. 

Students like Bethune and Rogers were happy about the opening of this new spot on campus, however, they still feel more could be done to expand the “dining diversity” on campus.

N.C. A&T Dining Team is actively listening to students’ recommendations and hopes to continue to provide students with comfort, convenience, outstanding food and an inviting atmosphere designed for all students to enjoy.