As state regulations involving COVID-19 shift, URI Dining Services returns to offering in-person meals. PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Kulik
In accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state of Rhode Island, the University of Rhode Island is offering students options for dining this year that have been unavailable for the past 18 months due to COVID-19.
Dining Services is an important facet of the college experience and offers a physical and social space for students. Last year, all URI dining halls operated through carry-out dining options in place of the usual in-person dining experience.
However, with many restrictions lifted in Rhode Island and the University mandating vaccines for students, dining halls on campus are now able to serve students sit-down meals in person.
Pierre St-Germain, the director of Dining Services, has been at the forefront of the transition back to in-person dining at URI.
“We decided probably in roughly July that we were going to go back to in-person dining based on if the state was still allowing that,” St-Germain said. “That’s part of the reason [in-person dining] ended last year because the state’s guidelines made it hard for us to accommodate in-person dining.”
He also noted that regulations in dining halls are different from other areas on campus. This is because experts were not sure how the COVID-19 virus spread at the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, experts have agreed that the virus is spread through the air and not on hard surfaces.
“After the CDC did research, it was found there was very little transmission through hard surfaces such as utensils and very little through food,” St-Germain said. “Also, all our workers are masked and vaccinated, which is something we worried about last year.”
Buildings at URI, including all those with dining options in them, use heat, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems that circulate fresh air, which is a vital component to stopping the spread of COVID-19, according to St-Germain.
St-Germain also explained that students not wearing masks while sitting down to eat is safe, even at full capacity in the dining halls.
“When eating food, in theory, you’re not necessarily projecting out like when you’re in a classroom trying to project sound out, and that is where you are going to have more super-spreader issues with the virus,” said St-Germain. “The dining halls tend to be more centrally focused and the percent of vaccinated students [at URI] is in the high 90s so we are mostly looking at students not contracting it from each other which is a positive thing.”
While dining halls are mostly back to normal, it is still important for students to follow the rules in place in order to ensure the best dining experience in the school year to come, according to St-Germain. This includes wearing a mask when not sitting or eating and trying not to cluster too closely.
Some students are excited to return to a more normal university dining experience after last year, such as Nathan Macomber, a junior writing and rhetoric major.
“I love indoor dining,” Macomber said. “I feel it’s a great way for students to bond with one another, make new friends and just relax from the stress of college life. I really missed indoor dining last year so I’m glad it’s back.”
Macomber does still feel concerned, however, despite his excitement. He fears that Dining Services may have to pivot back towards to-go options if COVID-19 cases on campus rise.
“Dining services seems to have good safety precautions in place so I am hopeful that won’t happen this year,” he said.
St-Germain says that the best advice for students to stay safe and keep indoor dining present all semester is to follow the rules in place.
“It’s still a situation,” said St-Germain. “It hasn’t gone away so it’s important we make sure we’re doing the right thing through the University. We’re not alone, and we need to think about others around us.”