5 things: Vanderbilt issues dining credits to compensate for food shortage issues

In this edition of 5 Things, Food Management highlights five things you may have missed recently about developments affecting onsite dining.

Here’s your list for today:

In compensation for dinner service food shortages on Aug. 23, Vanderbilt University Campus Dining announced that students would receive a daily credit of $50 from Aug. 24 to 29, expiring at the end of each day, along with a one-time rollover Meal Money credit of $15. Like many other dining operators, Vanderbilt has been experiencing supply chain interruptions such as late or incomplete deliveries and other backup issues, hampering meal service as the fall term begins.

“We’ve heard your feedback and are aware of unacceptably long lines and product shortages,” the Campus Dining statement reads. “We expect that these increased options will reduce the strain on both dining hall staff and students, and allow our operations to rebuild stock for next week.”

Read more: UPDATED: Students to receive daily $50 Meal Money credit from Aug. 24 to 29 following dining service shortages

After announcing that it will begin the fall term online because of a serious outbreak of COVID, Rice University has issued a clarification noting "anomalies with the [COVID] test results" that had helped prompt the decision. In a letter to the university community, Kevin E. Kirby, vice president for administration and chair of the Crisis Management Advisory Committee, said that "dozens of people whose initial tests showed them to be COVID-positive have been retested twice and all but one of those have turned out to be negative."

Related:5 tech things: Robot food delivery comes to Ohio State’s huge campus

Nevertheless, the school will stay with its plan to conduct most of classes online until Sept. 3, as many students and faculty have already made plans based on that schedule. Rice is just one of several major universities in Texas that have decided to adjust their early fall plans due to a COVID resurgence.

Read more: COVID-19 Response weekly update: August 22

The PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) vegan advocacy organization plans to deliver free vegan meals to Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans on Saturday, Aug. 28 both as a service to healthcare workers and as a way to promote meat-free dining. The fare is expected to include Big Daddy Burgers, Muffanada sandwiches, Happy Hen “eggless salad” sandwiches and toasted pecan brownies from the nearby Breads on Oak vegan restaurant.

Related:5 things: NYC Schools to require all staff to vaccinate

Read more: PETA to Feed Healthy Vegan Meals to Local Hospital Workers

The University of Tennessee has opened its largest campus dining hall, West Campus Dining, replacing an older facility in its Presidential Court complex. The $47 million, 80,000 sq. ft. building features three floors completely dedicated to dining with each of the three floors featuring different kinds of food.

Read more: New West Dining Facility comes to campus

A survey of 846 college students conducted Aug. 11-13 gauging their attitudes toward the start of fall classes amid the COVID Delta Variant surge found that most anticipated feeling either "extremely comfortable" (33%) or "pretty comfortable (37%) in campus dining halls while 22% said they were not very comfortable" and 8% "not at all comfortable." It also found large majorities favoring indoor mask mandates (74%) and vaccine mandates (73%).

Read more: Axios COVID Report: The Generation Lab

Bonus: Houston public high school offers all-day foodservice

Contact Mike Buzalka at [email protected]