N.C. State students seek takeout dining option

Students at N.C. State University are putting pressure on administrators to give them a takeout option as dining facilities become increasingly overcrowded.

This year at NCSU, 8,100 students are crowding the dining halls during mealtimes, creating a space crisis that students and administrators are hoping to fix, said Jennifer Gilmore, a spokeswoman for dining at NCSU.

“In the past we’ve been able to spread the load of students out across dining locations,” Gilmore said. “This year we’ve had a big spike with students on a meal plan. We’re not sure why.”

Students who have experienced the overcrowding in the dining facilities firsthand are pushing for a takeout option, which would let them get food and eat it at a place and time that fits into their schedules.

“I am definitely for it because it would give me an opportunity to not have to sit in the dining hall, but to be able to just stop by and get lunch,” said Casey Baker, a sophomore biology major at NCSU.

Although they are looking to fix the problem with a takeout option, Gilmore said officials are worried that the option might become costly if students start putting too much on their plates.

“The way we budget is based on plate cost,” Gilmore said. “For example, if they load their plates full of hot wings, which cost more than other things, it would skew the plate cost.”

Gilmore said they plan to have a solid plan for the overcrowded dining halls by the end of the semester.

“At some point we have to step out on faith, and say we’re doing this for the students,” she said. “We have to minimize the variables and have a program we can feel good about and the students can feel good about too.”

At UNC, the full takeout option, with Styrofoam boxes, was first available to students in 2007.

Before the full option, students could use their meal plans for takeout that was offered at the downstairs Mainstreet Lenoir, called “Outta Here,” said Scott Myers, director of food and vending at UNC.

 First started in 1992, “Outta Here” offered a couple of the items that were on the menu in the main dining hall, such as burgers and fries, Myers said.

“It was initiated basically for students’ convenience,” he said.

In 1992, there were only 400 students who had a meal plan. Today, there are 6,000 students with a meal plan, Myers said — more than the dining hall can support at one time.

 “If we didn’t have takeout at the Top of Lenoir, it probably would be a problem now.”



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