What’s the latest food news on campus? Next year, you'll be able to check your email to find the answer.
During Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee's Monday meeting, the committee discussed its plans to email students a monthly blast about the latest food-related news.
DUSDAC received 470 responses to a survey on how to best facilitate communication between students and food-providers, with 71 percent of students responding that they would be happy to receive emails with this information. The newsletter will be distributed to students who sign up for it at the beginning of the Fall semester.
“Right now, we need to create a timeline to make this newsletter happen, and we need to heavily publicize it for next semester," junior Quinn Steven said.
The committee also discussed what they believed students would most like to see in the newsletter and how much information the newsletter should contain. Junior Julia Medine emphasized that the newsletter’s purpose would not be to give vendors an advertising platform—but rather to communicate exciting food-related news to Duke's community.
“New chefs coming to Chef's Kitchen, cooking classes students can sign up for, when and where there will be discounted meals on campus and sustainability with food—this is likely what the email will convey,” she said.
The newsletter will not mention every on-campus and off-campus vendor each month. Instead, it will only feature those who have relevant news to share. Each member of the committee will be responsible for reaching out to several vendors in order to get the information they want included in the email.
In other business:
The committee also discussed its food truck rodeo, which took place prior to the Old Duke concert last week. Although the rodeo has typically featured 10 food trucks in past years, only four food trucks were at this year’s event. DUSDAC chair Brian Taylor, Trinity ‘16, attributed this smaller turnout to bad weather.
DUSDAC is soliciting feedback about its Merchants-on-Points lineup for next year and the food truck rodeo last week. Responses about the food truck rodeo have already called attention to a lack of Latinx food offerings as well as the long waits.
“Some of the lines for food were really long. I waited 20 minutes, but I heard some people waited an hour for pizza,” Medine said.
Next week, DUSDAC is slated hear from Makus Empanadas and discuss adding them to the Merchants-on-Points program.
Steven and Medine will take over as co-chairs of DUSDAC for the 2017-2018 academic year.
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