Let’s face it. Eating alone in the dining halls is terrifying. Everyone else is sitting in huge groups of friends, making your solo dining experience seem a bit more lonely.
Some days, the halls are so busy that it’s nearly impossible to find a seat for yourself, unless you want to share a table with a stranger. Not only am I uncomfortable with the Covid aspect, but crowded dining halls and cafeterias have always made me anxious, which is why the new Eco-To-Go program has been great for me! I’ve been able to eat the dining hall food, rather than buying my own food and wasting money, while not being forced to eat in the halls.
With the Eco-To-Go program, students can go to the dining office in Bob’s and pick up their own eco-container. Students can use the container to get food from the dining halls, but eat it elsewhere (I recommend eating on Miller Lawn while it’s still warm out!).
After getting a meal, students must rinse out their eco-containers, and swap it for a new one at Dana. The containers have to be washed and sanitized by dining staff between each meal, in order to avoid cross contamination.
My favorite part of this new program is how sustainable it is! I’ve been slowly transitioning towards a zero-waste lifestyle, so I love that I can eat out of a reusable container, rather than the compostable ones we had last year. I also love that this program acknowledges that there are so many reasons to not want to eat in the dining halls, and accepts them without question. This is just one small step towards a more eco-friendly and accessible campus for all.