Winter 2023 Campus Dining Today - 60

New dining operation
transforms campus
Douglas Frazier
executive director, dining
services, The George
Washington University
The George Washington University
(GW) rests in the heart of the
nation's capital, just a few steps
away from the White House, the
Kennedy Center, and a host of
museums and monuments. It is a
place where students come from
around the globe to have lifechanging
experiences, make positive
impacts on the world, and build
community. GW's dining program,
much like its city, has a rich history.
Since beginning
the transition, The
George Washington
University has opened
16 locations for
students, including
Pelham Dining Hall,
Thurston Dining
Hall, and Shenkman
Dining Hall, where
students can enjoy a
full all-you-care-toeat
experience.
Previously, students received 100
percent declining balance and dined
throughout Washington, D.C. at
more than 100 local restaurants
and shops, went grocery
shopping, and prepared meals
in their residence hall or
ordered meals to be delivered.
In 2019, the GW Student
Association commissioned a
survey to better understand
how this declining balance
plan affected students. Several
conclusions were reached as a
result of that survey.
The first conclusion was
students desired to build
community, network, and
share ideas with one another.
Students concluded that
shopping and preparing
meals in their residence hall limited
their social interactions as they
communed with the same group.
Students felt that having dining halls
across campus would allow them
to meet new people and build a
community around dining.
The next area that students focused
on was food insecurity. According
to Kiplinger, a business and personal
finance publication, Washington,
D.C. is the fifth most expensive city in
the United States. Dining in D.C. certainly
reflects that reality. Students would
come to the district without experience
managing a budget, dine throughout
D.C. daily, and quickly run out of funds.
This was an additional burden placed
on students, most of whom were away
from home for the first time in their lives.
The number of student visits to The
Store, GW's student-run food pantry,
would climb significantly as the semester
wound down.
The implementation of a residential
dining plan at GW was accelerated by
the COVID-19 pandemic. As restaurants
began to close their doors and stayat-home
orders were put in place,
students were quickly running out of
places to dine. The university's ability
to feed students came under the mercy
and fragility of the market during this
difficult time.
As a result, the GW administration made
the decision to implement a traditional
college and university dining program
for all on-campus residential students.
To do this, GW went through a request
for proposal (RFP) process and selected
Chartwells Higher Education as a dining
partner.
Since beginning the transition, The
George Washington University has
opened 16 locations for students,
including Pelham Dining Hall, Thurston
Dining Hall, and Shenkman Dining Hall,
where students can enjoy a full all-youcare-to-eat
experience. Quick service
retail experiences are available at True
Burger, The Halal Shack, D.C. Taco House,
Crisp, DH Pizza & Pasta Co., Chaat
House, Shenkman Global and Absurd
Bird. They can enjoy kosher dining at
GW zingers, a quick and convenient
60
CAMPUS DINING TODAY | NEW DINING OPERATION TRANSFORMS CAMPUS
Winter 2023 Campus Dining Today

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