The topic of food services has been tossed around for months now as students have wondered how they will be receiving meals, what the culture of the Haven and Mocha Joe’s will be like or if they will be encouraged to stay in their dorms for meals.
While it will still be encouraged for students and faculty to hang out in dining locations, there will be guidelines that everyone will be instructed to follow.
“Our mission within [AU Food Services] is to always promote and support any initiative behind building community,” Director of Dining Services Blake Milakis said. “We are however promoting social distancing in our dining locations and will follow any university policies or recommendations.”
“Our main goal as a food service provider is to always be as hospitable as possible,” Milakis continued on the topic of community in and around dining locations.
“We always strive to build a sense of community and bring people together at the table, but we unfortunately will be changing our approach slightly this fall to ensure our students, faculty, staff and guests are safe in our dining locations,” said Milakis.
With an established culture and sense of community and belonging on campus, students will have to adjust to an adapted way of living out that culture.
“All tables have been positioned six feet apart in all locations,” said Milakis. “Some tables provide single seating while others still are able to promote a small gathering of three-to-four people per table.”
Another abnormality the dining staff has had to face has been the fact that the Market Place will no longer be buffet style.
“We will now feature full service in all dining locations to help reduce high contact surfaces that students may be coming into contact with Coronavirus,” Milakis said.
The janitorial staff will also be doing extra cleaning in these areas to ensure the safety of everyone.
“This includes cleaning tables, chairs, door handles, plexi guards and other high contact surface areas,” said Milakis.
In addition, there will be hand sanitizer at each building’s entrance. Plexiglass barriers have been installed to help the dining staff retain a six-foot distance from the rest of the school.
While masks might not be ‘required’ in these locations 100% of the time if proper social distance is maintained, they are highly encouraged and recommended. All students must follow the university’s procedures as changes are made and rules are enforced.
If students have any other questions pertaining to the topic of food services, they can feel free to contact aufoodservices@anderson.edu or visit AU’s website for more information.