After starting the fall semester, jumps in coronavirus cases have led a number of schools to change their policies in dining and elsewhere. Read on to see how.
After announcing that the majority of its on-campus students would be asked to move out of residence halls following an increase in COVID-19 cases, North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., moved to consolidate its dining operations inside Talley Student Union. The team converted One Earth, an eatery inside the union, into an all-you-care-to-eat, self-serve dining hall offering three meals a day, five days a week. Other foodservice concepts in the union also remain open.
When 130 people at the State University of New York’s Oswego campus tested positive for COVID-19, the school suspended dine-in service at its dining halls, WRBG Albany reported. However, students are still able to order food for takeout. Greek life on campus has also been canceled, and residence hall visitors won’t be allowed.
When the COVID-19 positivity rate among its students leapt to more than 20 percent, the University of Wisconsin at Madison suspended in-person classes for two weeks. In addition, the university asked all students in two residence halls with particularly high positivity rates to quarantine in place. Foodservice shifted to takeout only, and menu items from eateries in the student union can be picked up curbside. In-person coursework at the university is slated to resume on Sept. 25.
After delaying in-person classes for undergrads by two weeks due to concerns over state and local positivity rates, the University of Maryland welcomed those students for in-person instruction on Monday. However, the university’s dining halls, which had implemented a carryout-only model during the remote learning period, will stick to grab-and-go service for the time being.
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Reducing demand
Just one week after resuming fall classes in person, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill moved all of its undergraduate coursework online and encouraged students living on campus to return to their permanent residences. The university has since reopened its Chase Dining Hall and Lenoir Hall to serve those who remain on campus.
The nutrition team received a Healthy Meals Incentive grant to hire an extra set of hands around the kitchen to help with expanding scratch-made options for students.
Get fired up, and get ready for your smokiest, most flavorful summer menus yet, whether you’re working with a giant smoker, an outdoor grill or a simple skillet.
Also in this week’s legislative update: Oklahoma says okay to electronic school meal applications and New Hampshire lawmakers rework a bill that would make a handful of changes to school nutrition programs.