BY OLIVIA WEBSTER
Photo Credit: Stonehill College
Sodexo, Stonehill College’s dining service, gave students a sneak preview of “all you can eat” dining at an event recently.
Kathleen Fitzgerald, the head of Dining Services at Stonehill, said the event, which mimics the “swipe system” of college dining, was part of the school’s effort to see what and all-you-can-eat program would look like.
“The school originally put us up for proposal for another food service to take our spot, to find another contractor. A lot of the students asked for all-you-can-eat dining, especially athletes. The vision behind the night was for students to see what all-you-can-eat dining would be like getting a vision for next year or the year after if we decide to switch as a school.”
Fitzgerald said the process was a great idea and it was something new and different.
“The staff likes to do new things for the students; however, they were a little nervous they were going to be really busy,” she said.
Indeed, the event was busy. Every student came to the dining hall that night for the dinner.
Fitzgerald said she and Sodexo staff did not expect “students to take as much food as they did, not eating what they could and then able to go back and get more.”
Fitzgerald said she “loved seeing all the students come in and get food, everyone was happy to be there and having a good time.”
This was Fitzgerald’s favorite part of the experience.
Her least part of the experience?
“It was tough to explain to students that they can return to the dining hall to get more. I had to explain to people you have to pay before entering the dining hall,” she said.
“Chef Joselyn came back to Sodexo six months before Stonehill working at different schools, being exposed to the all-you-can-eat dining system. He used his knowledge to work with us to make this event happen. I could of not have done it without him and Dave Naduro. They came from Dean and Providence College. We all had to think about how the event would look if it should be self-serve, or serving it, paying attention to the little things like beverages and desserts.”
“Sodexo staff enjoyed working it because it was fun for the students," Fitzgerald said.
The next all-you-can-eat event will take place again on November 29.
“Because we did it once, we think that students will still attend, just not at the same time, with the lines being long. I think people overall enjoyed it, and we hope to create the same experience again on the 29th,” Fitzgerald said.
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