Last year the dining hall was under tight covid restrictions. All food was served to the consumer directly by employees through the serving counter or in tiny to-go boxes due to the restrictions and policies concerning touching and contamination.
This semester the lunchroom, with its three serving bars, is different. The first serving bar in the lunch line is the serving counter where the cafeteria workers serve food, and you can even serve yourself at the end of the bar. Last semester you could not serve yourself in this area, so the lunchroom workers prepared plates for consumers. The second and third serving bars in the lunch line are the two salad bars and the breakfast bar. Last semester, these two bars just had tiny, clear to-go boxes placed on them with the already prepared food for you to carry out if you wanted to pick it up to take it with you. This semester there are no more of those to-go items there, and you can prepare your own salad on the two salad bars, with several items to choose from to put in them, or even make a sandwich using all the separated available items on the bar. At the breakfast counter, which is in the back corner near the dessert table, you can even make your own waffles, pancakes, and even a few other items there, using the cookers!
Mia Scott, a student at BMC, said the lunchroom also has new ice creams that you can pick through in their deep freezer by the serving counter end. Then there is also the condiments, which last semester were all only in small packages, but this semester are also in squirting bottles near the salad bars, as well as salt and pepper shakers at each table. New seating arrangements have been made so that more people can sit at any table. Last semester, the tables had required no more than four people at each table, and each person had to be spaced at least one seat apart.
The balcony outside the lunchroom that was added last semester has just recently been extended. It has a new tarp covering on it, and even more seating has been added so that people can space out if so desired. But one restriction still remains: the masks. They must be worn at all times except when eating. The administration has adjusted the mask policy to “recommended rather than required” as of September 28, 2021, but there are plans to reinstate the mask requirement after Fall Break until further notice.
The lunchroom menus can be found online. Cafeteria worker Wesley stated that the menus are changed weekly, with different food served each day. The weekly menu can be accessed by going to www.bmc.edu, clicking on the drop down menu in the upper right hand corner, then on “Students”, then on “Dining.”
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