Emma Coffey ~ Staff Writer
The University of Lynchburg has a variety of dining options for its students ranging from the Burton Dining Hall to the Domino’s at Rainsford Hall. If students want a cheeseburger, then the Westover Room is the perfect place to go or if anyone has a craving for Mexican food, then El Si can fix that craving. As the campus continues to grow, so will the options.
According to Dining Services Co-Director and Operations Manager, Shaun Dearden, thirty years ago the institution only had the Burton Dining Hall and Westover for students and faculty to have meals. However, the dining services have continued to grow. Dearden said that residential students have unlimited meals in the dining hall, eight guest meals, six meal exchanges per-week, and 200 dollars in express money. Dearden said that to give students a different variety, different food trucks will come, and students can buy their food. His current goal is to get vending units to accept declining dollars. He said, “It is our goal in the future to take express and Hornet meal dollars, but we are looking to continue to grow.”
According to Dearden, he would like for there to be additional healthy options, vegan options, and possibly late-night options for students in the future. He said that there is now an option for students to be able to use a meal-exchange to get to-go meal form the dining hall. If students decide to do this, the cost for a to-go box is five dollars and it is reusable. Dearden said that the box is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Students can go to the dining hall register if they want to do this.
Senior, Victoria Mason said that the current dining options “are decent, but they can improve the salad.” According to Mason, instead of having a single food truck come, she would like to see a group of food trucks. Mason said that the institution should have a Chick-fil-a as well.
Sophomore, Rena Conklin said, “I think the dining options are for the most part good, but the quality of food can be better.”
According to Conklin, many people talk about how the food makes them sick and she has dealt with this before. She also said that the noodles and beans are undercooked most of the time. She said, “I like a lot of the soups they provide, but as a person allergic to shellfish they put out too many soups with shellfish.”
Shaun Dearden said, “We know that students are looking for flexibility and variety. We continue to grow and meet the needs and that more is to come.”