I’m Kirwin Seger, a junior from Brooklyn, New York, and I was selected to serve as the student representative on the committee. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to have a voice at the table because, ultimately, it is students who will predominantly be eating the food, and our administration at Juniata recognized that and acted on it.

Here are five factors I considered when helping to choose a food vendor for myself and my peers:

Flexible Hours

Parkhurst understands what it means to be a Juniata student, recognizing that every student has a different schedule with different times that they are able to eat. Because of this, they will keep dining halls open much later to meet the needs of students.

Inclusive & Unique Options

The need for an all-inclusive plan, which will allow students to visit the dining halls beyond the typical three meals a day and obtain snacks to sustain themselves throughout the day, was part of the call for proposals. Not only will the meal plan be more inclusive, but the variety of options will increase. I am particularly excited for the diverse ready-to-go options.

Respecting Dietary Restrictions

When making myself known as a student representative on the committee, my peers began to express their concerns and needs to me. Given the common trends of these students’ concerns, I am really excited about the new vegan and vegetarian line in Baker, which will be a staple now as opposed to a rotating line.

A Commitment to Education

Parkhurst presented a student-centered approach in everything that they do. For example, Parkhurst plans to hold "dorm crashes," where they will come into dorm kitchens to teach students how to cook certain dishes.

Community Openness

Baker Refectory is open to students as well as to the general public who may wish to eat on Juniata’s campus. Individuals can purchase meals with cash or credit cards.

Throughout this process, I learned so much about the intricacies of dining services–some of the proposals were more than 200 pages. I learned that we cannot take for granted the food that we have. While we will miss so much about Sodexo, I applaud the College for taking the time to put in so much work for something that is such an integral part of student life.