Controlling food cost, part of the USU cafeteria
The dining room at USU-Eastern has gone through many changes for the new semester. The reason for these changes is to control food cost. Now that we are with USU, we have to go by their rules. “USU sells in one day what USU-Eastern sells in one year,” said Becky Archibald. The price went up a penny from last year. There is also a new full time chef in the dining room is Tony Archibald. And now the dining room offers a buffet rather than when students paid for everything they took.
The new motto in the dining room is “Eat what you take and take what you eat.”
This archived article was written by: Val Moncada
The dining room at USU-Eastern has gone through many changes for the new semester. The reason for these changes is to control food cost. Now that we are with USU, we have to go by their rules. “USU sells in one day what USU-Eastern sells in one year,” said Becky Archibald. The price went up a penny from last year. There is also a new full time chef in the dining room is Tony Archibald. And now the dining room offers a buffet rather than when students paid for everything they took.
The new motto in the dining room is “Eat what you take and take what you eat.”
There are new meal plans for the students to choose from, one swipe is one meal. Students can choose between the following plans; 3 a week for $299.00 which is three meals a week in the dining room and one meal a day. The second option is 10 a week for $999.00 which is 10 meals per week in the dining room. The third option is 14 a week for $1,399.00 which is 14 meals per week in the dining room.
Finally, the last option for the students is 40 a semester for $299.00 which is 40 meals per semester in the dining room. All of these plans have one transfer meal per day, which means that students can use their card once a day at the Golden Grille.
If students decide to pay cash; breakfast is $6.49, lunch is $7.99 and dinner is $8.99.
All of the residents that live on campus are required to purchase a traditional meal plan. The students living in a cooking room will be required to purchase a minimum plan of three meals a week. The students living in a non-cooking room will be required to purchase a minimum plan of 10 meals a week.
There are also new serving hours at the cafeteria they are; 7:30-9 A.M for breakfast, Lunch is from 11:30 until 1 p.m., and dinner is from 5-6:30 P.M. The Golden Grille hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
There is now a four week rotating menu; there will be different food every day depending on how much it sells. For example, on Tuesdays and Thursdays there will always be gourmet pizza because the students loved it. Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, the cafeteria will have the taco bar. For dinner on Wednesdays and Fridays there will be the 7” Pizza.
For breakfast; on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays there will be a sandwiches and French toast. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there will be omelets and Breakfast Burritos. Some of the everyday items will be the Waffle bar, Fruit bar, and Pastry bar. Also the cafeteria will offer eggs, potatoes and meat; like sausage, bacon or ham, every day.
Dining room buffet rules; there is no food to go. No sharing with friends. Pay as you enter the cafeteria, also no backpacks, or hoodies. “The only disadvantage that comes from the changes is that students cannot just come in and hangout in the cafeteria,” said Archibald
Some of the things the cafeteria still offers are 15 toppings and two dressings for salads; including homemade bleu cheese.
The dining room will be closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break. But as for the other holidays they will stay open.
“It helps to have the support from USU,” said Archibald. The hardest change that Becky faced when going through this was when the I.D card machine went down, so students had to have both their I.D. card and a temporary meal card as well. On the other hand, there are also some changes that made it simpler. For example; the payroll system and the point of sell system are now controlled at USU; which means less paper work.
“I’m always open to new suggestions and ideas from students,” said Archibald. There is a suggestion box located in the cafeteria where students can leave a note. “If they leave a name and number I will definitely get back to them,” she said.
