As Warriors begin to repopulate the Stanislaus State campus, they won’t go hungry.
Food service, shut down for more than a year, is beginning to open for students, faculty and staff returning to campus.
The MSR Café, with Starbucks offerings and sandwiches, currently is the only on-campus food option available but broader food services will be available Aug. 23, the first day of instruction.
Students responding to surveys conducted by Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) and Housing and Residential Life helped determine the initial dining options as the campus reopens.
Providing boxed meals and bagged food will be:
- The Warrior Grill, taking over most of the food service previously provided by Main Dining, open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- The new Starbucks in the University Student Center — one of the chain’s full-sized restaurants — open 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Also in the Student Center, The Market convenience store, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- The MSR Café, open 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- The Village Café, for on-campus residents, continues to be open.
- New vending machines with pre-made sandwiches and salads will be in the newly renovated Vasché Library.
This fall marks somewhat of a grand opening for the Warrior Grill, which was not yet fully operational after the Student Center opened in January 2020 and stay-at-home orders took effect six weeks later.
“We’ve got brand-new pizza ovens we’ve never used,” said David Sawyer, who was recently appointed director for contract services.
Warrior Grill will serve as the main dining option for non-residents. A newly spruced up Main Dining, which will soon have two new big-screen televisions, will be available for seating. Room capacity, table and seating limits are still being determined.
Sawyer said for now, there are no plans to open other dining outlets on campus, but as on-campus numbers and demand grow, that will change.
Cold drinks will initially be sold in bottles and cans or dispensed by Chartwells employees until health regulations change and allow customers to once again dispense their own drinks. Beverages will be provided by Coca-Cola, which won a multi-campus request-for-proposal bid in July 2020.
In addition to dining locations, students weighed in on what they wanted offered and requested healthier snacks, gluten-free items and more vegan and vegetarian options. All are being considered as menus are finalized.
“Our main focus is to have quality food available for students, faculty and staff,” Sawyer said.
Additionally, a dining committee is being established for students, faculty and staff to offer input and sample potential new offerings from Chartwells, Sawyer said.