By Mark Samuels
This week, Lafayette Dining Services announced that they would be signing a contract with national convenience store chain, Wawa, to be the new food provider for the college.
Students now have the option to choose what they want every day for their meals. They can choose from deli counter items such as hoagies and chicken tender sandwiches, from an array of snacks including Doritos, Chex Mix, and OrvilleRedenbacher popcorn, and sides from mashed potatoes to mac and cheese.
Students will also have multiple options for drinks, with retail refrigerators set up around the dining hall. Options include bottled sodas, teas, water, and juices. For dessert, hungry patrons will be able to pick either donuts, novelty ice cream, or candy bars.
Dining halls will also be open now 24 hours, seven days a week.
Wawa Liaison for Lafayette Dining Services Carl Jamison said he’s extremely excited about the new partnership.
“All of the food providers had great proposals,” Jamison said. “But in studying the profit that our local Wawa receives, it seems that the students are way more receptive to that kind of fast food. I’ve heard a lot of excitement and enthusiasm from students about Wawa coming on campus. It’s turning out to be really receptive.”
Students have been voicing their opinions about this new food system all across campus. “When I heard Wawa was coming onto campus, I almost threw out my wallet,” Georgia Brady ’15 said. “Now I won’t have to go all the way off-campus at 3 am on a Saturday to get my hoagies and chips. Plus, it’ll be better than what we have now.”
“I’m just mad they chose to switch to Wawa right as the class of 2013 is leaving,” Benjamin O’Donnell ’13 said. “I’ve wasted at least a thousand dollars, if not more, paying for Wawa and the meal plan when I could have just done both for one fixed price.”
One group on campus, Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection, known as LEAP, has a different opinion than other students.
“We are pissed,” Communications Director Madeline Waters ‘16 said. “The one thing we continually asked for was sustainability, and what Lafayette gave us was pre-cut, packaged fruit and a slim selection of vegetables, grown in who-knows-where. It’s an outrage.”
Despite the environmental presence on campus, students are ecstatic about this journey into a new dietary adventure. “It’s like a dream come true,” Grady said. “I have never been more excited about anything else at Lafayette.”