The Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee began a new initiative Monday night to discuss improving food services with vendors.
DUSDAC hopes to start bringing in managers from on-campus vendors for 30-minutes discussions at the beginning of its weekly meetings. They tested the program by having Alpine Bagels Manager Brett Porter and employee Darnetta Craig attend the meeting, present ideas and listen to suggestions from the committee.
“We’re excited about starting this new program that will help us evaluate every on-campus eatery, and talking to them about how we see improvement from the student perspective,” said DUSDAC co-Chair Jason Taylor, a senior.
Alpine Bagels let the committee taste test two of their newest sandwiches, the Buffalo Chicken Wrap and the Turkey Ciabatta Roll, which should be available soon. The eatery also announced possible changes, such as using flatbreads, bringing in whole grain bagels and adding more vegan options such as soy cream cheeses.
Committee members suggested Alpine Bagels stay open later, give out free samples to customers waiting in line and offer punch cards to reward people who frequently buy sandwiches in addition to the already-available frozen yogurt cards. DUSDAC also recommended adding a smaller cookie to Alpine Bagels’ menu.
“I love [the new initiative], it is a great idea,” said DUSDAC member Zach Chapla, a junior. “This way, we can get a sense for what is going on with them, and we can make our suggestions heard as a committee since we are a student advisory committee. I can’t believe we didn’t think of this before.”
DUSDAC plans to bring in Panda Express and Tommy’s Rubs and Grubs in the next two weeks to discuss ways the eateries can improve for the student body.
In other business:
DUSDAC and Dining Services are also trying to work out a system for students to tip Merchants on Points delivery drivers using food points instead of cash.
“We hope to test two or so vendors in November and get a sense for how it should work,” Director of Dining Services Jim Wulforst said. “That way we can get all the kinks out and get it to work out the right way. We then hope to roll the program out sometime in January, but there is no guarantee that it won’t take longer.”
Taylor said the empty Caribbean Kitchen cart will be replaced by a Greek vendor owned and run by Giorgio Bakatsis, owner of the now-closed George’s Garage restaurant. Vita is now part of MOP and Nosh should be within the next week. George’s Diner should be tentatively available on points Oct. 23.
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