Feeding Student Athletes a Challenge for Dining Services

What would you do if 150 student athletes came running off the playing field demanding food, drink, and rest? If you're a dining services employee, you're already prepared to serve them, early or late.

It's not an easy job. The fifteen athletic teams follow intricate schedules. Some leave for games or practice as early as 6 am, before breakfast is served; others may leave for a game before dinner is 'on'; while still others might be finishing a double-overtime contest at 7:30 pm, after the last dinner dish has been put away.

Throw into the soup all the dietary and physical-training requirements of student athletes (coaches want food on their teams' plates that creates power, energy, and endurance), and you have a unique challenge to the dining services department.

Luckily, the department is very student oriented and works overtime to accommodate athletes' needs. Dining services and athletic department staff have met about what types of food the athletes would like when traveling to "away" games. Dining services provided the athletic department with a variety of menus and different food preparation options, and even allowed athletes the option of having foods in bulk, so if one person wanted a tuna sandwich instead of a turkey sandwich, she could have her wish. "The food has been really good," says Katharine Nelson '00, who's trying out for the crew team. "And when there is something you dislike, there's always the salad bar. The diet has really good carbohydrates, and there's pasta or bread and fresh fruit." Riding team manager and dance major Nicole Rossi '97 agrees. "The menu has lots of carbohydrates to keep this athlete of sorts full of energy," she says.

During preseason practices for fall teams, the athletic department made special arrangements to feed student athletes in Blanchard before the dining halls opened. Every effort is made by dining services staff to accommodate athletes' training schedules and dietary needs. When athletic contests go into overtime, dining services staff also put in overtime to feed them.

Laurie Priest, director of athletics, said, "Dining services is totally receptive to our requests and to meeting student meal needs. They really care about our student-athletes and always go the extra mile to help them be the best they can be." They continually meet athletes' needs with a "No problem" and "What else can we do?" attitude, she added, making dining services a championship "team behind the scenes."