Since the demolition of the Connell Student Center over the summer, dining options for students have changed drastically across campus. The Fresh Food Company moved to Penfield Hall, the Farmers' Market in the University Center expanded and The Drop moved to Tarver Library. With these changes have come mixed student opinions on both the efficiency and the quality of the dining options Mercer provides on campus.
“Sometimes I skip lunch,” Zavida Hall ‘30, said. “I don't feel like dealing with the rush of going and then getting food and having to wait a while.”
The move to Penfield Hall, a far smaller location than the CSC, has seen delays and ineffiencies in the provision of breakfast, lunch and dinner on campus. The CSC’s cafeteria had a circular design, with multiple different lines for multiple different types of cuisine. The size of the CSC allowed quicker handling of lunch rushes.
“I feel like [the circular design] helped with the flow of traffic,” Shafa Gilani ‘28 said.
In Penfield, the dining options are now shaped in a rectangle, with food options around the perimeter and seating in the middle. Food stations are to the left while desserts are on the right. All diners enter through one passageway, with one door for an exit and one door for an entrance.
Students say Penfield's design as well as its entrance contribute to overcrowding during the peak lunchtime hours of 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. “You walk into a house with one singular entrance and exit,” Gilani said.
Students also complain about the lack of variety in breakfast options. This problem is especially pronounced for freshman, who are required to purchase a meal plan. During breakfast, the cafeteria serves the same meal with a slight rotation of meat and starch selection. Even the alternatives don't provide enough options, students say.
“Einsteins is the only thing I eat for breakfast every day,” Hall said. “I'm getting tired of eating a bacon, egg, and cheese every day.”
Additionally, students have complaints about the cleanliness and food quality of the meal options on campus. Gilani said she got plates and utensils from the Farmers Market that were not cleaned properly, which made her reconsider eating there in the future.
“I’d rather pick a spot that doesn't feel nearly as contaminated, which might sound a little bit picky,” Gilani said. “But I'm paying for a meal plan.”
Other students think the wait times aren't as bad during non-peak hours, which balances the timing out. Djamila Mugbet Nku ‘28 thought the wait times in Penfield were overexaggerated.
“At first, I was doubting it because I thought it was super small,” Mugbet Nku said. “But, everyone has their different times when they go.”
Outside of the Fresh Food Company located in Penfield, students can choose from Chick-Fil-A and Panda Express in the University Center as well as Einstein's and The Drop in Tarver Library.
Students have expressed concern over The Drop's crowded space in the bottom floor after it was relocated from a much more spacious spot in the CSC. Thomas Buttimer ‘29 used that space often. “It's where I did most of my work in the winter when it was too cold to sit," he said.
Students say The Drop's use as both a study spot and a dining option have been diminished because of the smaller area it inhabits. During the summer semester, Buttimer checked out the new Drop and did not like what he saw. Because of how narrow the space is, no more than 8 people can fit in there comfortably, he said.
Timi Awe ‘29 believes the Drop is not as good as it was last year. Not only is it narrow, certain items run out of stock in comparison to last year. "Now I need a granola in my acai bowl,” Awe said. “But they rarely ever have that anymore."
Toby’s To Go food truck, a revived option stationed outside of Tarver Library adjacent to Cruz Plaza, sees more positive reception from students, who have praised its variety of options as well as the quality of the food compared to the Fresh Food Company and The Drop.
“I love the food truck,” Mugbet Nku said. “I love that they switch up their menu.”
Aramark, Mercer's food services provider, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
