Renovations to Mission Park Dining Hall and Eco Cafe over the summer added more seats and increased the number of menu items. The college also made changes to Whitmans’ Dining Hall, where to-go containers are now exclusively available at weekday lunches.
The changes were first announced to the student body in a May 23 email from Dean of the College Gretchen Long, Assistant Vice President for Dining and Auxiliary Services Temesgen Araya, and Deputy Director of Campus Sustainability Mike Evans. The email said the changes are “designed to improve available seats and flow through our dining spaces, increase dining options, and reduce waste.”
The to-go container changes aimed to stem food waste. “I co-chaired a Food Waste Working Group with Temesgen,” Evans wrote in an email to the Record. “This working group, composed of staff, students, and faculty, was convened to develop concrete, actionable recommendations to address the rise in post-consumer food waste.”
Ultimately, the working group found that reducing the availability of to-go containers would also reduce food waste. “The approved recommendations included modifying the approach to single-use to-go containers, increasing Compost Friends’ presence at campus events and in dining halls during strategic times, and developing a consistent and ongoing educational campaign,” Evans added.
At Mission, seats were added following the elimination of a food prep area that previously occupied the center of the dining hall. Students told the Record they appreciated the new layout.
Dilan Fernandes ’27 noted that the renovated dining hall feels spacious. “It feels more open,” he said. “[Before], it felt more claustrophobic.”
In addition to the new seats, the Mission revamp introduced two Fresh Blends machines capable of whipping up chilled beverages like smoothies and milkshakes. The machines are identical to the one installed at Whitmans’ in winter 2024 for use during late-night dining.
Unlike the machine at Whitmans’, students can operate the units at Mission themselves and are free to have as many concoctions as they can make. “I love that I can get more than one,” Michelle Ametekpor ’27 told the Record.
Emma Connor ’29 and Oona Rosburg ’29 said they liked the machines but had reservations about their placement in Mission, which is only open for dinner on some days and for Sunday brunch. “[They’re] very cool, but it would be cooler if they had it during breakfast,” Connor said.
“Why didn’t they put it in Resky or Driscoll?” Rosburg added.
Rosburg said that she was surprised by the prices the College may have paid for the machines. “I was told that it’s $36,000, and that’s a crazy amount of money,” she said. Dining Services did not respond to a request for comment on the machine’s price, but they are currently listed for over $30,000 on a culinary supply website.
At Eco Cafe, more space is now devoted to food service, and seating has been reconfigured. A new countertop allows more space for students to prepare self-serve bagels, while the cafe’s coolers boast an expanded menu of grab-and-go sandwiches and salads.
Katherine Bai ’26 and Irene Yang ’26, who consider themselves Eco Cafe regulars, believe that the changes have made the experience smoother. “I think it’s nice because now people know where to stand when they’re getting food,” Bai said.
“I agree that the flow’s a lot better,” Yang added. “In the morning, the toaster line would be like 10 people deep. Now, at least you have room to stand and wait.”
The pair also praised the new seating. “I do like the new desk table in the back, because it makes use of space that … people didn’t use for anything,” Bai said.
“Now, it’s a perfect bar table setup,” Yang added.
