Together We Rise

Dining on Campus in the Now and New Normal

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As the world continues the long journey back to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic, many students are gearing up to start a new academic year faced with new, extraordinary challenges. The start of a semester can cause anxiety for both new and returning students, and parents, and recent events have added reasonable concerns about health and safety in the wake of the global pandemic that altered the way we live, work, and learn. Sodexo understands these concerns, and we are committed to protecting the health and safety of everyone who dines on campus, as well as members of our dining team.
 
Enjoying meals with other students in the campus dining hall is a key factor in supporting positive mental health and creating a sense of community, which has long been considered a vital element of the college experience. As we all continue focusing on social distancing and maintaining physical safety, the idea of students shuffling into a crowded dining hall may inspire hesitation. With 76% of consumers reporting that a restaurant's cleanliness and food safety matter more to them now than ever before, dining establishments must take clear, tangible, effective steps to address these concerns. In the age of social distancing, how can we ensure that students stay safe and healthy when they eat on campus?
 
Sodexo is taking a cautious, measured approach that gives students the confidence to enjoy meals on campus, as well as flexibility to choose the dining options that make them feel most comfortable.

Yes. Each student will be tested and quarantined in their rooms until their test results are received. During the initial quarantine period, on-campus students will have their meals delivered to their residence hall or college-owned residence. Students living in College-approved, off-campus locations (College Row, College Hill, James Street Properties) should prepare for their quarantine in advance of their arrival—bringing food or arranging safe food/grocery delivery for their meals until the end of their quarantine period. Please note that quarantine is expected to be up to 72 hours but may be longer depending on testing conditions or for students arriving internationally and from certain locations. Students will be able to leave their rooms only to use the bathroom, get their meals from the hall delivery point, or in case of an emergency.

As the world continues the long journey back to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic, many students are gearing up to start a new academic year faced with new, extraordinary challenges.  The start of a semester can cause anxiety for both new and returning students and parents, and recent events have added reasonable concerns about health and safety in the wake of the global pandemic that altered the way we live, work, and learn.  Sodexo, the College’s dining services provider, understands these concerns and is committed to protecting the health and safety of everyone who dines on campus, as well as all members of our dining team.
 
While a student is quarantined, on-campus students will have their meals delivered to their residence hall.  Those quarantined students living off-campus should prepare for their quarantine in advance of their arrival.  When students are cleared to be released from quarantine, they may access the Dining Hall. Students will receive instructions for ordering meals in the Student Arrival Welcome packet.  Questions may be emailed to Catering@fandm.edu.
 
The Sodexo team takes pride in serving you wholesome ingredients, preparing recipes accurately, and providing nutritional analysis and ingredient statements through our online menus and nutrition calculator.  From our general manager to our frontline servers, we work carefully to address food allergies, celeriac diets, or other special dietary needs.  For students with nut allergies, you can rest assured that the Restaurants at Ben Franklin, as well as meals provided during the quarantine period, do not offer nuts or peanuts. If you have a food allergy/special diet concern, please contact us:  Catering@fandm.edu
    
Proven precautions and safety practices, combined with transparent and ongoing communication, assure students and parents that we’re doing everything we can to protect the campus community.  Driven by a confident resolve, Sodexo’s careful and systematic approach will keep students, facility, and staff who dine with us safe and healthy.

When students are cleared to be released from quarantine, those on the meal plan may access the Dining Hall. Dining services will work carefully to address food allergies, celiac diets, or other special dietary needs. For students with nut allergies, the Restaurants at Ben Franklin, as well as meals provided during the quarantine period, do not offer nuts or peanuts. 

Students will be tested twice a week throughout the semester. The College will follow public health guidelines with a focus on continued daily screening and education regarding their pledge to the community and other protocols (masks, physical distancing, cleaning, surveillance testing, contact tracing, etc.) to support the safety of our campus.

The Restaurants at Benjamin Franklin Hall (referred to on campus as DHall) will be the only dine-in option for students.  DHall will be open continuously from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with unlimited access for students on the default “All-Access”  meal plan. The DHall will be closed for 30 minutes between breakfast and lunch as well as lunch and dinner for cleaning and sanitizing the dining rooms.
 
KIVO (kosher dining option) will be closed Fridays at dinner until Sundays at lunch. Students requiring special diets will place orders for meals over the closing which will be available for pick up when needed.
The menus and food service stations are still being developed, however, the following stations in DHall will be operational in the fall:
  • My Zone (gluten-free)
  • Deli selections
  • The Grill
  • Pasta
  • Pizza (personal pan size only)
  • Trellis (vegan/vegetarian)
  • Sustenance (comfort food)
  • KIVO (kosher; dairy and meat)
  • Mongolian Grill
  • Daily specialty salads will be offered (no salad bar)
  • Waffle makers, toasters and topping will be moved over next to the Trellis station and will be served upon request (no self-service)
The Blue Line Café and Steinman College Center will be operating with pre-order-by-app or grab-and-go only. There will NOT be on-site dining at these locations. 
 
Flavors in Barshinger Life Sciences & Philosophy Building will be closed for the fall.
 
The hours of operation for these locations have not yet been determined.
  • All dining locations will have required Plexiglas shields at points of service and other locations as needed
  • Signage, floor stickers for social distancing, and direction arrows will be installed to assist with student circulation and efficiency
  • Masks will be required when entering and moving through the dining hall. Once seated, you may take your mask off. 
  • Foodservice workers will wear PPE and will wash their hands and sanitize at established intervals
  • Sodexo (our catering service) developed a required 4.5-hour special COVID-19 training program that all employees will attend before the start of the semester to contribute to student safety as well as their own. Additional employee training will be conducted as the semester begins.
  • Foodservice workers will hold daily staff health and safety briefings
  • Tap readers will be used for meal plan access (on-site). Checkers will not handle the student cards.
All food in DHall will be served by staff members wearing PPE. There will be no self-service options available.
Yes, masks will be required when entering and moving through all public spaces. Once seated in the dining hall, you may take your mask off to eat and drink.
We understand that sharing meals is important for socializing and community-building, and will be allowing students to eat-in at DHall. The DHall has been set up with table configurations that allow for six feet between seats in any direction. The 5’ round tables have plexiglass partitions installed to accommodate four students at a time; all other tables will accommodate one or two persons maintaining social distancing. All other on-campus eateries will be grab-and-go or pre-order-by-app.
Yes, the number of people allowed in the dining hall will be limited. Lancaster County is operating in the “Green” phase, a Pennsylvania classification process used to safely reopen the state. Currently, restaurants in PA can open with up to 25% occupancy but are required to maintain required social distancing and protective shields.
 
The number of people in Dhall will be managed by a traffic counter at the main door. The traffic counter will help monitor not only the number of people seated but will help make sure long lines do not form at the stations. If the total number of students reaches the seats available in the DHall, then incoming students will be held at the door until other students leave and food service workers wipe down the tables.
Yes. While DHall will be the only dine-in option, students may pre-order by app or grab-and-go at Blue Line and Steinman College Center.

Mein Bowl, Grill Off the Green, Simply Salads, and Blue Line will all have the ability to pre-order food through the Bite+ app on your phone. You will receive confirmation of your order through the app. When you arrive to pick up your order, you will show your order confirmation to the cashier and you will use our new tap-technology to pay. Just like when you order in person, you can use your meal swipes, flex dollars, and Ben's Bucks to pay for your order.

To sign-up for Bite+, go to bite.sodexo.com or download the app from the iTunes store or Google Play store and search for Franklin & Marshall College to find our menus.