October 2009 Report

Dining Hall Meetings are split into three categories this year: Lake Shore Dining/Rambler, Simpson Dining, Water Tower Dining/Terry Food Court. Meetings are held as follows:

• Simpson Dining: Every Monday at 2:45 p.m. inside Simpson Dining hall near the offices. Meet with Fadila of Simpson Dining.
• Lake Shore Dining/Rambler: Meets every 2-3 weeks on Wednesday's at 3:00 p.m. in Rambler with Robert Bearman.
• Water Tower Dining/Terry Food Court: Meets every 2-3 weeks on Friday's at 3:30 p.m. in Terry Food Court.

Please e-mail Alexis (ascherb@luc.edu) to confirm meeting times.


Updates from Lake Shore Dining/Rambler Meeting:

• Focused mostly on Rambler Room vs. Lake Shore Dining
• Others in the meeting brought up the idea of more stir-fry, Italian, etc. (make your own type choices) --> Told that Mexican is what sells, so Mexican will be staying.
• Discussed the lack of space in Rambler, meaning no room for an extra vegetarian only cutting board/knife in the sandwich area --> Suggested that if the employee were just very careful to clean well between sandwiches (as sometimes they are in a hurry and forget) that would be a huge step in the right direction
• Discussed was the lack of good labeling. For example, the vegetables are all vegan (not cooked in butter), the beans are vegetarian/vegan, and hummus has always been available at the sandwich station. (I did not know this, and I doubt it is commonly known.) Since the meeting there are new signs in Rambler at the Mexican station & the sandwich station explaining which options are vegetarian and notifying students about the option of hummus.

Updates from the Simpson Dining Meeting (10/19/09):

• Organic food at Southside
  o Had started buying organic fruits, but the place they would buy from was unreliable. 12 out of a case would be rotten.
  o Apples at Simpson are locally grown.
• Added Pineapple juice
• Student Appreciation Day—October 26th
  o Free stuff
  o Vegan dessert! Yay!
• Trying to talk to the caterers in charge of the Finals Breakfast
  o Get more vegan options
• Damen Hall
  o Very few vegan items. Most usually unavailable.
  o Thai food @ Damen: No more Thai food at Damen because the restaurant lost its license --> Fadila will look into a new business to replace it, but apparently the license is a pain, and most businesses don’t think its worth it
• Systems Sustainability Class is going to be growing herbs next semester
  o Dining hall will use them for food (so I guess it’s locally grown, organic)
  o Class is looking for more Greenhouse space
• Pad Thai
  o Kids at the meeting really seemed to like Pad Thai
  o Have a Pad Thai a la carte, like the stir fry section
• Have a meat free week?: Probably with more vegetarian options but still have meat for those who want it
  o Serve foods that are a vegetarian take on traditional meaty dishes
  o Serve vegetarian-ish dishes. Like Lo Mein, or Pad Thai, etc.