The College Dining Hall Is Getting a Depressing COVID-19 Makeover

Colleges are figuring out what on-campus eating will look like this fall

The entire idea of a college campus — with roommates in cramped dorm rooms, lecture halls full of students that have traveled from every state to attend, and parties packed with horny young people — seems like a perfect breeding ground for the new coronavirus. Despite all that, colleges and universities are determined to resume in-person activities, so here we go: CNN reports that, as part of reopening plans, dining options on campuses are drastically changing, and that college experience mainstays like lingering in the dining hall are over.

Instead of self-serve buffets and food stations, many colleges are offering to-go meals to be picked up at assigned times, and students who chose to eat at the dining hall will have to eat quickly at one of few limited tables. Some schools are allowing students to make dining hall reservations by partnering with OpenTable, and others are thinking of letting students use their dining credits to order food off-campus. Trying to coordinate with four friends on a reservation time that works for all of you just so you can eat mozzarella sticks? That is some real-world experience.

And in other news...

• The Minnesota State Fair will ship cheese curds and corn dogs to your house. [Delish]
• During the Black Plague, wine merchants in Tuscany cut teeny windows into the sides of buildings so they could serve people on the street safely. Now, the booze glory holes are being opened again to serve people during the pandemic. [NYPost]
• Restaurant Brands International is planning on closing underperforming Popeyes, Burger King and Tim Horton’s locations, and said they expected “several hundred” restaurants to close. [RBO]
• A new bill, the Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act, proposes universal school meals, and would not require students to prove eligibility. [Modern Farmer]
• New Belgium Brewing is charging $100 for a six pack today, to raise awareness of climate change and how it affects food production, and thus food pricing. [Fast Company]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]