“Block” Out That Growling Stomach

Dining Services has expanded its menu of dining plans this fall to accommodate faculty and staff members’ tastes, and give commuting students a satisfying new way to eat on campus.

The new faculty and staff block plans provide 11 or 25 meals for $9 or $8 apiece, respectively. They don’t expire and can be shared with guests.

The three new Connector Plans for students who live off-campus offer three, six or nine meals per week for $9 to $10 each.

“They provide a great culinary experience,” says Senior Executive Chef John Gray. “Each dining hall has a formally trained chef in charge of the kitchen, we use all-fresh vegetables, and we cook virtually everything from scratch.”

These options are “all you care to eat” and can be used at any of the three dining halls: South Campus Dining Hall, the Diner in the Ellicott Quad, and 251 North in the Denton Community.

They follow Dining Services’ shift in Fall 2016 to “Anytime Dining,” encouraging customers to satisfy their hunger in the facilities, rather than take it to go.

Which made us wonder: How exactly have these changes shaped diners’ experiences? Here are some fun stats provided by Dining Services summarizing the 2017–18 academic year:

3,192,580 dining plan transactions

1,032 catered events

209 concessions events

6.3 million disposable items removed from waste stream since Anytime Dining launch