Following the success of the recent Thanksgiving meal, NC State Dining is looking to accommodate more students who do not go home over break in the future, according to Keith Smith, director of board operations and sustainability at NC State Dining. Smith said dining halls will be incrementally open during spring break.
“For spring break, we will be open on the weekends for lunch and dinner, and then during the weekdays, we will be open for lunch,” Smith said. “It will be a typical meal, because we get slightly larger numbers.”
According to Smith, approximately 80 people attended the 2019 Thanksgiving Day meal, including faculty, staff and students. For spring break, Smith said he expects about 150 people in the dining hall based on numbers from past years.
Smith said because the number of people who visit the dining halls over spring break is much lower than normal, only one dining hall will remain open.
Regarding events like Thanksgiving, which he considered to be a success, Clark Dining Hall Manager Scott Curtner said he is open to some changes to make the experience more inclusive, like adding more vegetarian options.
“I think we had three [vegetarian options] this time around, plus the vegetables that we had, so I think we might change it up next year,” Curtner said.
Smith said he also looks forward to international and cultural events because of the new foods and recipes people will get to experience.
“We work with a student group or a cultural group on campus, and they help give us new recipes, and then we capture them in our database, and then we have them to use all the time,” Smith said. “So it’s fun for us, because we learn and our menus grow.”
Curtner said the opportunity to taste new foods from different cultures is a great part of the dining hall experience.
“I have asked people to try things, and I said, ‘It’s the best opportunity you have to try something, and if you like it, great,’” Curtner said. “If you don’t like it, go get something else.”
In order to get the word out to students about dining hall events, posters are hung, emails are sent out to all meal plan holders, and posts are made advertising them on Instagram. Regarding the Thanksgiving meal, Smith said the advertising done on Instagram was most effective.
“When we sent the Instagram thing out, all the slots filled up in that same day,” Smith said.
With all the preparation and advertising that goes into these events, Curtner said he’s motivated to cater for students who do not make the trip home over breaks.
“There’s obviously a need,” Curtner said. “We have an opportunity to help someone when they don’t have another option, and as long as we can do that and be successful, I think we should do that.”
