By Cait Kemp
News Editor
@caitlinkemp09
Knowing how many dining dollars are in your account and figuring out what Cheney is offering for dinner on a given night are some things that Springfield College students consider quite often.
Dining is a huge part of campus life at college, and Springfield offers ease to this factor with the GET app.
It gets a bit complicated, though, when technology fails and the app ceases to function. Luckily for this year, the rules on COVID restrictions are more lenient and the Union is open to order in-person at the restaurants offered. Ordering ahead may be more convenient, but the dining is still operating with the hardworking staff stationed at La Sabrosa, Subway, Sushi with Gusto, Dunkin Donuts and Roasted.
Through the GET app (when it is up and running), students have the chance to see their dining dollar balance, the hours of operation of the restaurants, and even have the option to order online so their food is ready to pick up when they get there. It is a convenient way to stay up to date on their account information and gives a quick and easy way to grab food for busy students on the go.
Springfield College has been making updates and improvements on the entire dining experience. The campus recently saw the implementation of Harvest Table in Cheney, which has brought farm fresh options that feature food from local farms and bakeries. Some of these include farms from as close as South Deerfield and Amherst, Mass., as well as some from eastern Mass., Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.
One of these partnerships, a recent one with Babylon Farms, has brought a hydroponic display of fresh produce into Cheney Dining Hall, showing the commitment to health and wellness being brought to the community.
Along with new partnerships, Springfield College dining has also revamped the meal plans, and introduced a new meal exchange program.
Meal plans span from all-access unlimited meal swipes to 3 meal swipes per week. This range of plans was created to cater to the needs of different students, from traditional dorm style living to apartment style living where students have kitchens and may not want to spend as much to have a meal plan. They also include dining dollars that can be used at the Union restaurants and the newly renamed “Marketplace” convenience store.
The meal exchange is a new feature this year that offers students a chance to use meal exchange swipes as opposed to dining dollars to get a set option at the different restaurants. For example, this could be a breakfast sandwich, hashbrowns and coffee from Dunkin, or a choice of a sub, bag of chips and fountain drink from Subway. Each restaurant has these different choices of customizable combinations, offering a great variety of dining options for students.
Through feedback from students and observations on the dining experience over the years, the Springfield College dining team has been able to recognize the issues and improve upon them in order to make students’ experiences the best they can be on campus. Follow @springfielddining on Instagram for more information and updates on things going on with Cheney or the Union restaurants.