More Questions (Boy, you're curious!)

Indian food in the fall?

• I’m sure it will be in the cycle. We continue to change menus seasonally, but always want to feature those things you like best!

Availability of vegetarian entrees

• There should always be a vegetarian entrée – and not just vegetables and rice. It may be that the item had run out and was being re-stocked. I’m glad the grill was there to fill in, but you should also always feel welcome to ask the staff if an item is available. They’ll find it, or help you find a hearty alternative on the off-chance that they’re totally out.

Reusable versus recyclable

• I share your concern re. the use of recyclables when one is eating in the dining hall. We do post this message, but it’s an ongoing learning and behavior change curve. The phrase “Reduce, reuse, recycle” definitely demonstrates the preferred order of consideration when using resources, so we’ll keep talking it up.

Multigrain waffle batter

• The nature of the item means butter and fat, but at least the fiber in the whole grains makes it better for you than the traditional white-flour version.

Washing Nalgenes and coffee cups

• We have dishwashing machines that wash everything to a sterilizing temperature for your safety.

Omelets at dinner

• Yum – but a labor challenge (omelets are more complex than a burger on the grill). We’ll explore whether this is a possibility given all the tasks the cooks are already responsible for at dinner.

Laxatives in the food

• No way. This is an enduring urban legend and utterly untrue. If you look at snopes.com, they talk about this and similar legends, such as chain restaurants putting nicotine in coffee to make it addictive. Any additive has the potential of being an allergen, so the risk of “sneaking” something in for subversive purposes would be far outdone by potential physical harm and lawsuits. So at HUDS, we prefer good old-fashioned safe food handling practices (proper holding and cooking temperatures, gloves, hand-washing, and so on), rigorously enforced by Environmental Health & Safety and City of Cambridge inspections.

Congratulations to our graduates, and have a great summer one and all!

Reminder: Dining Hall Service ends May 23

Just a reminder: dining halls close after lunch on Friday, May 23. For those seniors who are graduating, we have breakfast and lunch service only, from Saturday, May 24 through Saturday, May 31. Please keep in mind this is just for those folks graduating, and is not part of the regular meal plan. If you're staying on beyond May 23 and are not a senior, you can continue to use BoardPlus until May 31, as well as Crimson Cash at any time.

Congratulations to our soon-to-be-graduates!

Q&A

Let’s answer some questions – either those that you’ve recently asked or those that I know come up frequently.

Why don’t you charge just for what we eat? It would minimize waste.

• The current meal plan is rooted in the House system and is considered by the College to be central to its success. Harvard believes the House system is a core component of the College experience, predicated on creating a level “playing field” for every student at Harvard, regardless of his or her socioeconomic background. Thus a variety of services and activities, of which unlimited dining is just one, is available to all students equally.
  
  That said, the dining program has been evaluated and options for multiple or different meal plans have been reviewed and discussed – I refer you once again to the report from the Committee on House Life (http://www.orl.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k11447&pageid=icb.page85099) which voted unanimously to maintain the current dining program. Specifically, they recognized that the dining room is often the center of House life and restricted access, necessary if there are a variety of meal plans, would not serve House life well.
  
  Some people view the board rate as expensive but the rate is in the middle of other comparable meal plans.
  
  I also recognize the inequities – a football player at the height of training is definitely eating more than a less active individual, as does a person who eats 20 meals per week rather than someone who eats 6. The system relies on averages and the notion of community, not individual preferences. And, if we were to consider only ourselves, than there are many other inequities as a great deal of personal attention is given to those individuals with life threatening concerns, allergies, religious preferences within reason, and to a certain degree political and social concerns. When possible, even individual preferences about specific brands are considered. However, everything has a cost and to expect the current configuration of the meal plan to cater to every individual taste is simply not possible.
  

Can we change the bag meal system to have healthier options or even less options?

• The bag meal system continues to evolve and, much like the menu, changes based on our understanding of what the majority of our students want or need. At its origin, students only wanted either tuna fish or PB&J, chips, an apple, and a drink. And options cost money – stock we have to keep on hand and labor to assemble. So we will look at the system and consider what it would cost to make change, but also have to balance that against the whole. I agree, variety and minimal waste would be ideal. We’ll see what we can do within reason.

Who decides the menu?

• Really, you do – with some help from our chefs. We watch what you eat, what you ask for, and what is on your family dining tables. Based on this, chefs construct a menu that balances variety and popularity, is within our budget, and addresses special dietary needs. Does it look exactly like what you are served at home? Decidedly not, but then again neither do your dinner companions. Keep in mind, we are not a restaurant. We try to offer a nutritious, satisfying experience like you might have at home (or if you were a guest at a friend’s home). We will never be all things to all people at the same time. But in the process you may try something or learn something new. That’s our hope.

You should publicize the online feedback forums, such as the blog and CrimsonDining.org, more widely.

• We’re trying, we’re trying! They’re on the kiosks and the table tents, the blog is on the front page of the web, and now I see that 89% of you are on Facebook regularly, where you can rate dishes on CrimsonDining.org. But as we all know, the best way to make anything online more widely used is for it to go viral. So send an email to ten of your friends and ask them to rate the foods or check out the blog. Go on. Have you done it yet? I’m waiting.
  
  But seriously . . . tell your friends. And go on Facebook and join the Harvard University Dining Services group. We’ll use that space to let you know about upcoming events, to take your feedback, and to connect individuals with other campus groups that may be of interest.
  

Who are these advisory council people, why are they so removed from the dining hall, and how does it affect us?

• The advisory council is made up of people who are recognized as expert in their fields as well as a few Harvard students’ parents, who I’m sure their sons or daughters will say are expert as well. See the April 7 entry for more details. They are very much connected to campus, thanks to extensive interactions with students and administrators during their visits. They visit, review, and report their recommendations to me and others at the University.
  
  Why? It’s very helpful to have an informed third-party review from a group who understand the professional mechanics of preparing 25,000 meals a day and it gives perspective on our successes and our challenges.
  

Keep the questions coming and Good Luck on your exams!

CrimsonDining.org

One of your classmates created a remarkable Facebook application called CrimsonDining.org. If you have a Facebook account, it allows you to rate any of our menu items. The application pulls up the current menu, and even isolates it to the nearest meal period. You can then view individual item ratings or rate your own. You can even leave specific comments. And . . . you can see when your favorites will next appear on the menu!

We collect all kinds of data, but this menu-specific tool is unique, so I urge you to check it out and share your feedback. Thanks so much to Keito Uchiyama ’11, who has given us his permission to share this with you.

We’ve also created a Facebook group page. One of you suggested here on the blog that we make additional blogs for specific interest groups. My hope is that Facebook might be an even easier forum for that, since many of you already have groups, like the Vegetarian Society, there. We’d love to help you create these food-interest links, or use our page to connect like-minded people or interests.

All of this, of course, is an effort to share information with you and get feedback in the mediums where you are most comfortable.

I know it’s reading period and you have plenty to do, but according to Facebook, people spend an average of 20 minutes daily on the site. So keep in touch – online or on paper.

Good luck on your exams.