By: Mikala McBride, Staff Writer
Wofford’s new and “improved” Burwell Dining Hall is just the beginning of an overall effort to better suit student needs and offer more fresh and healthy options. According to President Nayef Samhat, Burwell is improving their food through new equipment and efforts to renovate so that the students, faculty and staff who choose to dine in Burwell can watch their food being made. Aside from Burwell, Zach’s has also made some very interesting changes: the old kitchen has been closed and replaced with a to-go option called Zach’s Express. Samhat says in the future, “AVI will get rid of the grill option; they’re expanding Boar’s Head and Chick-fil-A.” He also mentions that “when it opens in January, we’ll all be better off for it.” While students wait for Zach’s to improve, the Phase V menu has also been redesigned to include different options from last year.
Unfortunately, despite the slightly improved pizza and pasta, Burwell still fails to have more options for students with dietary restrictions, such as those who do not consume meat or animal by-products, those with gluten and dairy limitations and those with other food allergies. Burwell’s entrée station now serves food prepared on a plate for students to grab more quickly. Although this may reduce line times, students often wish to serve themselves, deciding what food they prefer or can and cannot eat. Providing more inconveniences for students with dietary restrictions seems to be the opposite of the intended purpose of improving Burwell Dining Hall. Preemptively serving portions that students do not choose for themselves leads to wasted food and slightly resembles the ‘healthy’ standards forced on students in high school.
On the other hand, Zach’s provided an easy and quick option for students with gluten and dairy allergies, because it catered to those with dietary restrictions. By limiting that food option and not compensating at Burwell and Phase V, finding edible food is an even more difficult mission for some members of the student body.
Luckily, Campus Union and Wofford administration are working closely with AVI to continue improving the food on campus. Fredy Madrid, a delegate on Campus Union who has taken a very active role in engaging with AVI, says “I think the best thing they’ve done so far is that they are willing to work with us in order to satisfy and bring us what we want. They have also really stepped up the quality.”
Despite some minor improvements, Campus Union continues to aim for upgraded food service and options. AVI is also very open to changing their current dining selections – in Burwell, the staff offers surveys for students to provide feedback and requests. AVI has been meeting with Campus Union recently in order to hear concerns. According to Madrid, AVI is “currently trying to get all the basic services that the previous provider had and then improve those.” Although AVI’s first impression has not reached expectations for many students, they continue to show improvement and a willingness to adjust. The future looks bright for dining at Wofford College.
