It’s all about sharing resources
When I started to write this blog post, my home was still without power from a pre-Halloween snowstorm. I was not alone: more than half of the households in the Amherst area were without power. In fact, the significant snowfall from the past weekend’s strong Nor’easter will likely go down in the record books as a historic event. Thousands of roads were closed and tree limbs and wires had fallen on cars and houses. We had nearly a foot of snow in town, and it was heavy and wet. But the most striking part of the storm was how unexpected it was: we went from raking the leaves to shoveling snow, all in one day.
Although it’s easy to take electricity for granted, all it takes is a power failure to remind us how much we depend on it. Life would be very different without electricity: no heat, no hot showers, no refrigeration, no computers, and no lights. Luckily, we had power on campus, and thanks to the Physical Plant, there was enough voltage available to support the university’s electrical needs.
Whenever there is a storm and the university is closed, the Dining Commons tends to be busier than usual. This time, it was even more hectic. We had a natural disaster on our hands. We not only served students but also people from the local community who joined us for dinner because they didn’t have power at home. Since the Sunday after the storm, we served more than 75,000 students and guests. Yet despite the snow, most of our staff showed up for work. They are heroes.
What made the timing of the storm even more challenging was that our annual Trick or Treat Halloween Lobster Dinner was scheduled for October 31st. It is always one of our most popular nights, so we went ahead with plans even though there were extra guests and a staff shortage.
Then came a phone call from the Dean of Students Office asking if we could also accommodate the off-campus students who didn’t have meal plans. Our answer was Yes. We offered free meals at all our DCs to students without meal plans. We wanted to alleviate some of the hardship of students living off campus without power by providing nourishment, and we also wanted to build community.
We provided free meals for three days. The off-campus students whom I talked to were overwhelmingly appreciative of the kindness shown to them, and they were very grateful to join their fellow students at the DCs. We ended up serving more than 8,000 students who didn’t have meal plans. Some of these students have never been to a DC. We welcomed them to join us and share our resources. And perhaps, after experiencing the food and hospitality, some will return as regular customers.
This is Ken Toong. Thank you for keeping UMass Dining at the top.
Contact Ken at ktoong@mail.aux.umass.edu
You can follow Ken Toong on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/KenToong