Jazzed up menu, decor being planned for cafeteria

By Lauren Rust

In the next two years, HCC may have a new lunchroom and menu.

At the beginning of the school year, surveys were sent out to the entire student body about housing, food, and other questions concerning Hutchinson Community College.

Out of the 600 individuals that replied, the majority of the comments involved the cafeteria.

This sparked the interest of HCC administration and created a new food task force.

This new food task force meets once a month. The first meeting was Oct. 27 at 4:30 p.m. in the Walnut room.

This task force included some administrators as well as six or seven students that responded about the cafeteria on the survey.

The task force will tackle the menu issue first and try to make the current food better as well as come up with different foods to serve.

One idea that came up at the meeting was more butter in the mashed potatoes and more flavor in the majority of the meals.

“This is an educational process,” said Brett Bright, vice president of student services.

“Students must realize that if you eat at the same place every day, you are going to dislike it.”

Bright also stated that even though eating the same food gets monotonous at times, we can still try to make that food better.

Later in the school year, this task force looks to send out a survey to everyone with a meal plan and ask them in more detail what they want out of the cafeteria.

After this new menu is complete, the next step is to redo the cafeteria.

“I would like to see changes in flooring, lighting, tables along the wall, and charging stations,” Bright said.

This update is a couple of years away, especially since the renovations will be done by the same architects that are redoing the Sports Arena.

Students do like the food on campus, but many admit that they would like to see a change.

“It is better than my high school food, sometimes,” Molly Scott, Norton, said.

Some students were very specific with what they want in the cafeteria.

“I wish they would bring pizza upstairs instead of just having it downstairs,” Connor Ledy, Garden Plain, said.

“I wish they had better chicken and more of a variety,” Chelsea Bell, Hutchinson, said.

Students also found that there is more to improve than just the food and the tables.

“I wish they would change the hours that they are open,” Victoria Briloy, Wichita, said.

Students and faculty will have to wait for the new lunchroom, but it seems that new and more flavorful food is coming close to our taste buds.

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