Muhlenberg College Dining Service
Responsibilities and Objectives

Muhlenberg College Dining Service is responsible for operating the Dining Venues within an annual budget that is derived from your board charges and cash sales.

It is the philosophy of Muhlenberg College Dining Service that our facilities are more than a place to eat. Food is necessity of life, but at Muhlenberg College we aim to transform a physical requirement into a sensory invention, turning the indispensable into an affordable amenity. We satisfy hunger, but we aim also to soothe the soul, please the palate, provide sound nutritional choices, and offer an "over the top" dining experience.

The Muhlenberg College Dining Service team is committed to providing the best in terms of atmosphere, menu selection, and service. If we meet these goals for you and you are happy, please tell your friends. If we fall short of our goals, and you are disappointed, please be sure to tell us.

Friends and Guests
We hope that when your parents visit the campus, you will invite them to dine with you. Guests may purchase meals on a cash basis in the Garden Room with the same privileges as meal plan members. Also, you may use “Flex” Dollars or Dining Dollars to pay for guest meals. Unauthorized guests cost you money. Food shared with or given away to those who are not on a meal plan could result in higher meal plan costs to you.

Food Services Part-Time Employment (Student)

Each semester, Muhlenberg College Dining Services hires students to work in a variety of positions. Positions include culinary support, banquet waiters and waitresses, and food court attendants. Students interested must first go to the Dining Service Office, located in the Garden Room and bring with them two official forms of identification, e.g. a driver’s license and birth certificate along with your class schedule.

We Offer:

• Flexible Hours
• Varying Positions
• Opportunities to learn food service
• Actual management experience and skills
• Free meal per shift worked
• Competitive wages
• Uniforms
  

Dress Requirement; Health Codes
Pennsylvania Health codes require that you wear a shirt and protective foot covering at all times in all dining facilities. (One potential hazard in any dining service operation is broken glass on the floor). Due to health regulations, safety, and as a courtesy to other diners, dogs and other pets are prohibited from entering all dining facilities (with the exception of Seeing Eye dogs).

Hours of Operation

Please see Dining Services website for the hours of the Garden Room, General's Quarters, Java Joe's, and the Powerhouse Cafe.

DINING COMMITTEE

The committee is organized to work with Dining Services managers and other members of the college community, and is responsible for assisting in the planning and development of special programs and facility changes for the future improvement of campus dining. It assists in communicating all necessary information to the student community concerning the Dining Services. The committee focuses its attention to these types of issues:

• New menu items
• Concepts and promotion of themed events
• New Facility Review (When applicable)
• Liaison between dining services and student body

Membership is comprised of representatives from the Office of the Student Union & Campus Events, Dining Service Managers, and any interested student (we encourage your participation to evaluate our performance and to discuss creative ideas to compliment our food program). This committee meets regularly and is important in bringing students and management together in a common good. Call 484-664-3490 for further information.

Meal Plan Options

Please see Dining Services Meal Plan website

Meal Plan Policies

Meal Plan procedures are designed to protect you, and to maximize customer satisfaction in terms of quality, service, and price. The Meal Plan is for the owner’s personal use while on campus. In fairness to all, no student is entitled to use the Meal Plan of any other student. It is however, permissible for a student to use their meal plan to purchase a meal for a guest.

Who Is Required To Participate In The Meal Plan?
First Year students are required to select either the Freedom plan, the Streamliner plan, or the Advantage 250 plan. Upper classmen living in the residence halls or any campus owned housing are required to participate each semester.

There will be no exemption for students from the meal plan. If a medical condition exists that requires an alteration in an individual’s meal plan, the college will consider providing the student with a minimal flex option. Documentation by the Student’s healthcare provider must be submitted to Student Health Services for consideration.

How Do I Obtain A Meal Plan?
If you are required to be on the Meal Plan, you will, at the time of finalizing the Contract with Office of Residential Services, fill in the appropriate meal plan.

Changing Your Meal Plan

Meal plan changes are only allowed during the first week of classes every semester for residence hall students. Changes are made through the Controller’s Office located in the basement of the Haas Building. Controller Office hours are 8am-5pm Monday – Friday.

Meal Access With Your Student ID Card

Muhlenberg College uses a Campus Card, an electronically controlled system. The system is called Envision, by Blackboard. This card contains a magnetic strip that is encoded with data that will activate the readers at the Dining Service Venues.

Your choice of a meal plan, dining dollars, and flex dollars, will be entered on your Campus Card and you’ll use it each time you dine on campus. Your meal card should be treated like a signed check or credit card. It is valuable, so protect it. You must present your meal card to the door checker at each meal. Cards are NOT TRANSFERABLE between students and friends. Your meal may not be shared with anyone else. You may, however, use your Dining Dollars or Flex Dollars, or meals through the Advantage 250, Advantage 200, or Independence plans to treat friends and family to a meal.  The Freedom plan includes 10 guest meals.

This card will also become your campus I.D., library, copy card and, in addition will eventually be used to gain access to the dorms, and various campus locations and activities.

What If I Lose, Misplace, or Damage My ID Card?
Report a lost or stolen card immediately to the Office of the Student Union & Campus Events or the Campus Safety Office. Once reported, your card will be instantly invalidated preventing unauthorized use. New cards can be obtained in the Office of the Student Union & Campus Events 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, or the Campus Safety Office during other times. Take good care of your card. A replacement card costs $25.00 and a lot of inconvenience.

Eating Without Your Card
You can’t. Go back to your room and get it, or pay cash for that meal and save the receipt. We will refund your money upon presentation of your card and the receipt within 48 hours. No exceptions are allowed.

Your Student ID Card And Meal Plan is Nontransferable
Students are welcome to entertain guests that are dining with the Meal Plan participant, by paying the casual meal price with cash, dining dollars or flex dollars.

Falsifying, altering, or misusing your or anyone’s else’s ID card in any way is strictly prohibited (i.e., letting someone else use your card, you using someone else’s card or attempting to sneak guests into any dining venue without paying, etc.) and are violations of the “Muhlenberg College Student Social Code”. Any incident of misuse will be forwarded to the Judicial Affairs Officer for appropriate disciplinary action through the Muhlenberg College Judicial System.

Menu Choices

A varied and nutritionally balanced menu, which takes into consideration student preferences and market availability, is written by trained Dining Service personnel and approved by a registered dietician. Quality and quantity of all food served in the Garden Room is more than adequate to meet nutritional requirements, to satisfy the heartiest of appetites, plus provide the varied choices students look for today.

Selections at breakfast will generally include eggs, breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, ham), pancakes, waffles, home fries, juices, cereal, fruits, beverages and more.

Selections at lunch include homemade soup, a variety of grill items, hot entrees, pasta and sauce, vegetarian station, full salad bar, vegetables, deli-bar, beverages and more.

Selections at dinner will generally include a minimum of three hot entrees, one of which is vegetarian, full salad bar, a carving station offering roast meats, vegetables, rice, potatoes or noodles, rolls, desserts, a wide assortment of beverages and more.

You will not find our food prepared with heavy usage of salt or other seasonings. We have a wide variety of spices for your individual taste throughout our service area. You may have unlimited seconds in the Garden Room, and in order to avoid wasting food you will be allowed to serve yourself.

Vegetarians and Vegans
Dining Service provides a vegetarian entrée at the lunch and dinner meals. An extensive salad bar is available as part of the regular menu and a vegetarian soup offered daily. A variety of fresh fruit and canned fruits packed in natural juices are a few of the selections provided at each meal. If you have a special vegetarian entrée recipe, please share it with the management in the Garden Room.

The Garden Room has a special variety of items available each day to help satisfy customers that are Vegan. These include legumes, steamed vegetables, soymilk and margarine, multi-grain breads without dairy products, and baked potatoes. Vegan entrees and vegetables are identified on the menu, at the serving lines.

Students with Special Dietary Needs
In our continuing efforts to meet our resident’s needs, we try to give every consideration to students who have special dietary needs. We are, however, limited by time and facilities. We do have a registered dietitian available by appointment to assist students. Contact John Pasquarello, General Manager, Muhlenberg College Dining Service for assistance (484) 664-3488.

Dietary needs for Students with illness requiring confinement to their room.
If you are under observation in the Health Center and/or your confined to an on campus residence for health reasons, Student Health Services will issue a diet recommendations slip to get a Student Illness Care Kit Meal (S.I.C.K. Meal) from the Garden Room. If you need to have a SICK Meal, have your roommate or friend present your meal card and diet recommendation slip from Student Health Services to the Manager of the Garden Room. You will receive the needed food items along with wishes for a speedy recovery.

Box Lunch Program
Box meals are available for those residents who will be absent for a meal because of class or job which conflicts with a meal period. Call the Dining Services Office at x-3488 to make arrangements for a box meal. Your meal card number will be entered as a meal consumed for the meal being replaced by the box meal. Box meals are available only when the meal plan is in effect.

Food Waste
Each day, hundreds of pounds of perfectly edible food are thrown away because students have taken more food on their trays than they can eat.

Please take only what you can eat, and eat what you take.

The cost of this waste drives up the cost of your meal plans and contributes to the pollution of our environment and the filling of our landfills.

Special and Themed Meals
There are many themed meals and menu specialty items served during the year to break up the everyday routine. Some are held in conjunction with special events on campus. We encourage everyone to attend and enjoy. We also appreciate suggestions for these special functions that will prove interesting to all students.

Birthday / Special Occasion Cake Service
Cakes may be ordered through the Student Activities Office, phone 484-664-3657.

Catering Services
Muhlenberg College Dining Services does provide on-campus catered events for individuals and for student groups. Such catered events might include formal or informal functions, waited meals, theme parties, etc.

For information regarding catered events, we encourage students to stop by the Muhlenberg College Dining Services office, which is located in the Garden Room so we can assist you in planning parties, dorm dinners, birthday celebrations or whatever you desire. Phone (484) 664-3488.

Dining Venue Courtesies and Policies

Each student is asked to carry his/her own tray and dishes to the tray drop located in the dining area. Students are expected to clear tables and to place their trays, dishes and eating utensils in the appropriately designated areas. This saves labor and keeps the cost of meal plans at a lower level to allow your table to be occupied by other residents who wish to dine in a clean and attractive setting. Students who take or attempt to take dishes, glasses, silverware, salt and pepper shakes, trays, etc. from the Unions will be subject to a $25.00 fine.

All food served in the Garden Room must be consumed in the dining room. It is not intended that a meal plan provide food to be eaten at any time other than during the regular meals. Therefore, no food may be taken from the Garden Room without authorization.

The Garden Room is intended for providing a quality meal in a pleasant atmosphere. Because of the way the style of service is structured, we are unable to permit anyone access without purchasing a meal via, cash, flex or with use of the meal plan.

Book Bags
Book bags are permitted in the Dining Rooms. However, we reserve the right to inspect them as you leave.

Missed Meals
From long experience, Muhlenberg College Dining Services knows that meals will be missed by every student. These missed meals are taken into consideration when the costs of the Meal Plans are determined and the price of the plans is reduced accordingly. If, for example, there were no missed meals, Meal Plans would cost substantially more a year than your present rate. Therefore, no credit is given to you for your missed meals.

Sneaking In, Theft of Food, Unruly Behavior
All students are expected to conduct themselves in a mature, civil manner at all times. This includes extending common courtesy to all personnel and peers. All Dining Service staff is empowered to see that proper conduct is maintained in student dining areas and to report any offenders. Any discipline problems in any dining service facility will be reported directly and immediately to the campus police.

We Care!

Communication with you, our customer, is one of our highest priorities. We welcome suggestions because our goal is to provide you with the best dining service program possible. Your ideas and suggestions are always appreciated. Please feel free to call or better yet to stop in and see us in person. If you have a concern, please bring it to our attention immediately so that we can correct it before it becomes a problem.

Suggestions / Problems
If you have a suggestion, criticism, or other problem, please let Dining Services management know. There are several options for you to use:

• Napkin Board: Napkins are always available. Tack one to the Napkin Board and it will be answered within one week, unless your comment contains offensive and inappropriate language (such cards are thrown away). The responses will remain posted for one week.
• Dining Committee: After members are selected, the names of committee members will be posted. You may take your concerns to members, for discussion at regularly scheduled meetings.
• Dining Services Management: Our managers and supervisors are always available to assist customers. Take a few minutes to talk with them, to get the fastest response to your concerns.
• Customer Surveys: At least once a semester your attitudes, opinions and suggestions will be sampled in a formal way.

Service issues should be addressed with Supervisors or managers immediately. If you do not receive satisfactory response or satisfaction, ask to see John Pasquarello, General Manager, Muhlenberg Dining Services. If the situation warrants further action, please contact the Office of the Student Union & Campus Events located behind the Information Desk or by calling 484-664-3494.

Our best wishes go with you during your stay at Muhlenberg College. If our management and staff can be of any service, please do not hesitate to ask.