As a COVID-19 safety precaution, Southern is adding an app to order food online from KR’s and the Kayak. In addition, there will be a change to the cafeteria’s menu as self-serve service will be discontinued.
The app, called CBORD GET, will allow students to place and pay for their orders from KR’s and Kayak online. It will not work with meals in the cafeteria, and no official decision has been reached about which functions will be used for the Deli. The app will be linked to students’ meal plan account and will directly calculate purchase discounts respective to students' individual meal plans. The goal is for the app to help decrease the number of customers inside the waiting areas of these food facilities.
“So, if [students] order and pay online for a pickup … they won't have to then go and swipe their card at that place,” Financial Administration Senior Vice President Tom Verrill said. “It’s all online. [So], they can just show up to pick up their order, which makes the process a lot quicker.”
However, it will still be possible for students to order in person.
Though the app will not have the option to order food from the cafeteria, it will be used to reserve seats in the dining hall. As seating capacity in this designated eating area is being reduced by 33%, CBORD GET will allow students to secure a space. According to Verrill, students may reserve a spot for just themselves or a group of friends.
Implementing this feature to the app will also allow Food Services to clean up the tables after each use.
“Students will still be allowed to come in [without a reservation],” said Teddy Kyriakidis, Food Services director. “But we're trying to get students to sit in a designated area. That way we can keep a rotation going and prevent traffic to the dining hall, allowing us to clean up before the next group comes down again.”
Food Services is also implementing a change to the cafeteria’s menu. Each meal period will have fewer options, and self-service will be suspended for the time being. Some popular features, such as the ice cream machine, will no longer be available. Discussion is still taking place about the accessibility of the waffle station during breakfast and the haystack bar during lunch and dinner, according to Kyriakidis.
Though self-service will not be an option in the cafeteria this semester, food will still be charged by weight.
To make up for the fewer menu options, Verrill says, there will be more grab-and-go choices. In fact, the pavilion outside of KR’s will be a designated grab-and-go spot. Administration will be adding coverings to this area so that it is still usable during bad weather. The Presidential Banquet Room will also be open to accommodate more students.
Besides these changes, anyone inside the cafeteria, KR’s, Kayak or Deli will be expected to wear masks at all times with the exception of when they are eating in the designated eating areas. Customers will also be asked to sanitize their hands as they enter the cafeteria and will have to keep some distance as marked by tapings on the floor. Hours for all food places will remain the same.
“We're working with our county health inspector to make sure that things are being done safely,” Kyriakidis said. “We’re going by his recommendations and guidelines. Overall, our goal is to best serve our students safely while giving [them] the college experience they expect.”
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