Students found a bigger change than usual at the start of this school year, and it was in the dining hall. Administration made the awaited switch over to Creative Dining Services from their long-term partner, Flik, over the summer. Faculty and students alike quickly noticed positive changes and additions over the first few weeks of school, including the addition of pasta and pizza each day and dessert toppings. However, the honeymoon phase soon abruptly ended, leaving many students disappointed and even angry.

“The first week was pretty good. They had really high-quality food, and most people liked it, and we all thought it improved from last year,” junior Annika Kuo said.

However, after the first week of school, the trendiness faded away and students began to look closer at what was served and how it compared to the previous dining service, Flik.

“During the first week of school, I thought the new dining service was great. It was new, but I liked it. It has many more options than last year, which makes it easier for pickier people to eat lunch. Although there is more food than last year, it has less variety and is less healthy than previous years,” sophomore Callie Eady said.

Over the past week, Creative Dining Services made major changes in the flow of the dining hall as well as the menu itself. Thorough signage and new food stations were added, improving the convenience of the room.

“I think it’s improved recently because I don’t know what they did, but they decided to change everything, and it’s been really good. They have that one line be took American food. Now they have one that’s foreign, and then they have pizza,” senior Charlie Jackson said.

The new improvements that Jackson mentioned have not gone unnoticed by students and faculty.

“I’ve noticed that there are a lot more people in the dining hall, so everybody else is loving it more, too,” senior Olivia Lunsford said.

Fourth meal, a late-night snack served in the dining hall, is an important part of residential life. It is an opportunity for boarders to enjoy filling food before bed, but also a social time after a productive study hall period.

“In the beginning, they had a fourth meal every single day, but now they changed it back to Tuesdays and Thursdays like last year. But in the beginning, they had a really high-quality fourth meal, and then they never had it again,” Kuo said.

Some boarding students prefer quantity over quality during the fourth meal and enjoy the diversity and the wide selection that pleases everyone.

“I think it’s a lot better this year because there are so many more options,” Lunsford said. “Before, it would just have ice cream out of the freezer. But now they actually have a bunch of different snacks, which is a lot better.”