It’s no secret that college campuses will look different this semester. With safety at top priority, Lipscomb has created some new ways for students to eat on campus.
There have been new dining options, a full-service Chick-fil-A and even a healthy snack bar added to Bennett in preparation for students’ arrival in the fall.
“We will be doing some fairly dramatic changing in terms of food service,” said President Randy Lowry in a conversation with Lumination about dining at Lipscomb this fall.
Lowry talked about four specific changes that students will notice come August. The first “dramatic change” Lowry noted was the limiting of seating in Bison Cafe to half of its usual capacity, in order to follow social distancing guidelines. To accommodate for this loss of seating, there will now be seating available in two additional spaces: Room 1891 and downstairs in Shamblin.
Not only will there be a reduction in seating, but the serving of the food itself will no longer look the same either.
That’s where the next two major changes come into play.
“There will be no self-service in the cafeteria,” Lowry said. “Everything will be served to you.”
The Bison Cafe won’t be changing what food is served, just how the food is served. These modifications will limit contact between those in the cafeteria to reduce the spread of germs.
“We will have a very robust grab-and-go kind of concept that will be introduced,” Lowry said.
There will be an area where students can pick up pre-portioned food in addition to a cafeteria-style station. Not only will this be safer for students, but it will also save them time.
This will leave students with several options in the cafeteria, including a new “clean eating” option with healthier food choices for students.
This healthier option will also accommodate students with food allergies. Of course, the food court in Bennet Campus Center will also be open, with the addition of a new Chick-fil-A.
The new full-service Chik-fil-A will be similar to a free-standing Chick-fil-A with a station to order and more menu items than previously.
“Food-service people are working really hard,” Lowry said. “They don’t want the experience to decline, but they do have to deal with the sanitary part of it differently.”
In a time where most day-to-day activities no longer look the same, food workers are remaining conscious of everyone’s health and doing what they can to take precautions.
“After a week or two we’ll sort it out,” Lowry said, “and everyone will be pretty happy.”
*Additional reporting by Mckenzi Harris*