{"id":137234,"date":"2020-11-20T10:17:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T15:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=137234"},"modified":"2023-01-25T15:33:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T20:33:44","slug":"bates-dining-services-keeps-the-magic-alive-until-we-can-dine-together-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2020\/11\/20\/bates-dining-services-keeps-the-magic-alive-until-we-can-dine-together-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Bates Dining Services keeps the magic alive ‘until we can dine together again’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The show must go on, said Christine Schwartz, even if it\u2019s more like theater in a box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late October, after Bates saw a brief uptick in student COVID-19 cases, \u201cwe struggled whether to go ahead\u201d with the annual Harvest Meal, says Schwartz, who oversees the college\u2019s dining, events, and conferences operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, what do you do? What should<\/em> we do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since reopening in August under COVID-19 protocols, Bates dining has operated as a take-out program. Gone are multi-hour, sit-down meals. Gone is mixing and matching myriad menu items to create one\u2019s own showstopper (topped with sriracha, of course). Even the venerable Napkin Board is now entirely remote<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, when students walk into Commons, all the food that awaits them \u2014 entrees, sandwiches and wrap, snacks, condiments, and desserts \u2014 is either pre-packaged in single-serve boxes or served from steam trays by Dining Services staff working behind plexiglass windows. Only beverages are self-serve. Once the student has their food, out they go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Students
A Dining Services server fills a food container from behind a plexiglass window on Oct. 5, 2020. Initially in the fall, Dining Services had operations in both Commons and, here, the Gray Athletic Building to maximize physical distancing. With demand not requiring it, the Gray operation was closed in November. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The issue around Harvest Meal for Schwartz and her longtime colleague, Director of Dining Services Cheryl Lacey, wasn\u2019t entirely about safety. Their operation already features physical distancing, universal masking, staff working behind plexiglass windows \u2014 unfortunately limiting interaction with students \u2014 no indoor dining, including no Bobcat Den, and extensive cleaning protocols. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge was existential: Could such a thing as a Harvest Meal exist as a take-out concept? Without all the trimmings (food and otherwise), like horse-and-carriage rides, ice sculptures, and other theme-inspired decorations? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the end, we decided we had <\/em>to do it,\u201d said Schwartz. \u201cThere has to be some sense of continuation of normalcy \u2014 whatever that normal is.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The burden in the end fell mostly on the menu (plus lots of inflatables around the theme “Life’s a Beach”) a range of familiar and comforting fare of a Bates Harvest Meal, starting with roasted turkey. There was also beef brisket encrusted with brown sugar and chili; seafood chowder; roasted eggplant with artichokes and spinach; and green bean and tofu casserole, among other options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is just the most recent chapter in what for Schwartz and Lacey has been a massive effort to give Bates\u2019 1,700 on-campus students a normal dining experience, unfolding against a backdrop of anything but normal as students made the transition from sit-down meals in Commons to grab-and-go dining, dubbed \u201cDash.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way some interesting things have happened, giving rise to some concerns about post-pandemic dining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one, the staff has noticed that many students have compressed their three meals into two, \u201ctreating breakfast and lunch as one meal and dinner as another,\u201d says Schwartz, \u201cor treating dinner and the next day\u2019s breakfast as one meal, and lunch as another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ve created some kind of delicate brunch. This is about loading up on take-out items at breakfast, then skipping lunch and returning for dinner. Or, loading up at dinner and skipping the next morning\u2019s breakfast. The convenience of take-out food means they can stockpile snacks and even entire meals in their dorm rooms if they have fridges.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
A student walks by one of many to-go food stations in Commons on Nov. 18, 2020. (Jay Burns\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an interesting trend,\u201d Schwartz says, providing evidence that \u201cskipping\u201d meals does not mean eating less, according to what one might call the Nugget Index. \u201cIn the past, we would go through 42 cases of chicken nuggets” \u2014 that\u2019s 420 pounds \u2014 “on days we serve them. Now when we serve chicken nuggets, we go through 56 cases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The so-called Nugget Index does more than indicate how much students eat; it also shows what they care<\/em> about \u2014 and those things, whether large or seemingly small, are what Dining Services wants to help sustain, those “extremely important items of comfort food, whether entrees or condiments, that speak to what they love about Commons, from thin-crust pizza and hot vegan options to bagels, guacamole, salsa, and sriracha,\u201d says Schwartz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And chocolate milk. Students love chocolate milk. But this fall the college\u2019s dairy provider stopped providing the product in large bags. So Dining Services put out chocolate syrup next to the milk. But there was an unexpected learning curve: Some students had never made chocolate milk from syrup, \u201cso we had to put a recipe card\u201d next to the syrup, says Schwartz. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For students who are in isolation or quarantine<\/a> due to COVID, Bates has partnered with student-run delivery app Easy Eats<\/a> to support meal delivery to students who aren\u2019t able to come to Commons for meals. “We also hope this becomes a platform through which students with special dietary needs can communicate with our operation in a more robust way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dining Services still offers a robust menu of student favorites but it’s all pre-packaged \u2014 like these spinach, artichoke, and hummus wraps \u2014 or served from behind plexiglass windows. (Jay Burns\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Efforts by Dining Services such as the Dash program have been a big part of the college\u2019s successful effort to reopen and stay open. Still, Schwartz and Lacey look warily at how the convenience and success of the Dash program might affect their pandemic-free future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, it does scare us,\u201d says Schwartz. \u201cNone of us have spent our careers to create and perfect a pass-by dining program. It\u2019s not what we are designed to do and it\u2019s not who we want to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou need to have casual interactions\u201d before an acquaintance becomes a friend. “That\u2019s what Commons provides.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the future, I think it’s going to be tough for us to get totally away from grab-and-go. It depends on how long the pandemic lasts. Right now, students\u2019 memories of the communal experience and the relationships they can build in Commons are still pretty strong. If we can flip back in the next six months, we have a good chance of being able to do away with grab-and-go. If it runs much longer than that, to-go dining becomes a norm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least anecdotally, students feel a strong need to go back to the old ways. Dining in Commons, they say, helps them navigate Bates life, specifically how it helps students make new friendships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou need to have casual interactions\u201d before an acquaintance becomes a friend, says Mei Kane ’23 of New York City. \u201cThat\u2019s what Commons provides,\u201d a chance to spend time in proximity with people you previously only knew by sight. \u201cIt\u2019s especially helpful to meet seniors, since they often live off campus or in suites.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a meal place, \u201cCommons is a social space for me,\u201d says Ali Manning ’23 of Sydney, Australia. \u201cI used to sit in Commons from 5 to 7 in the evening, just catching up with friends and relaxing after long days of classes and before starting our homework. It’s more than the food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ali
Like many students, Ali Manning \u201823 of Sydney, Australia, appreciates the work of Dining Services to create a safe dining program this fall while missing the Commons social experience. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Dash program works well, she says, and \u201cI deeply appreciate the work and effort that our dining staff puts into it. It\u2019s not the same but I am sure that most students would say it\u2019s a sacrifice we\u2019re okay with making to stay safe and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining a sustainable ethic has also been a challenge, since the Dash program relies on throwaway packaging (though as much packaging as possible is made from 100-percent recycled materials.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacey knows there is a base of students, including EcoReps, who \u201clament that we are using so many disposables.\u201d She hopes those same students, with support from Dining Services and the college\u2019s Sustainability Office, will help a return to sustainable practices, post-pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most effective change that we see among students is often peer-led,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I think we will have enough peers who will lead our students away from the disposable trend\u201d when post-pandemic life arrives at Bates. \u201cI think we will get strong support from those students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Boxes of take-out food containers awaiting use are piled high on pallets along the south window of Commons on Nov. 18, 2020. Though the containers are made from 100 percent recycled paper, the pandemic has forced an increase in throwaway items. (Jay Burns\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Through a thankfully mild fall, the scenes of students eating outdoors here and there, on Alumni Walk, in the new Adirondack chairs, or on Garcelon Field, were idyllic. As cold weather takes hold, and outdoor dining becomes unlikely, Schwartz and her team are constrained by Maine occupancy limits for indoor gatherings, whether dining or not: 50 people per any given room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Everything this fall was more difficult than before, but you guys nailed it.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe could have up to 50 seats up in the mezzanine\u201d of Commons, Schwartz explains, as the main dining room will still be used for physically distanced food service. \u201cBut other campus rooms large enough to accommodate 50 people are already being used for something equally important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s no throwing in the towel for Schwartz and her team. \u201cWe will always look at ways to build community through dining. We will try to keep the memory alive of the magical experience of Commons for when, someday, we all can dine together again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about the years’ Harvest Meal? Students loved both the food and the effort, including umpteen inflatables around the theme, “Life’s a Beach.” Vanessa Paolella ’21, editor-in-chief of The Bates Student<\/em>, gave a public shoutout in her paper: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Thank you to all of the Commons workers who have gone above and beyond to keep us fed this semester. Everything this fall was more difficult than before, but you guys nailed it.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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