Dickinson’s recently changed Dining Services policy states that all funds used to purchase food or catering services for events must be used with the college’s catering services except in cases that involve fewer than 25 people or do not exceed $200.

According to Errol Huffman, director of dining services, exceptions are also made when a specific type of food requested is not offered by catering services.

According to Huffman, the policy, titled Use of Institutional Funds for Food/Catering Services, is not a new document.

“This has been an existing policy and practice for many years, albeit not strongly enforced,” he stated.

When asked why this policy was implemented, Huffman said that at the moment, the college is expending “fewer ‘true’ dollars when using Dickinson Catering Services than when using an off-campus supplier.” He also said that this policy and its updates allow for better use of institutional funds, a cause that the college supports.

Huffman also explained that, “We have the internal capability of making our own food at much less cost, and those savings directly impact the resources available to serve students.”

“Use of Dickinson Catering Services also provides a greater depth of service not typically included when using a local restaurant or grocery,” he added. “Using outside food sources requires groups to find ways to address serving and cleanup needs that add costs to the event.”

Student Senate’s Director of Club Consulting Ruthie Strauss ’18 said that despite the policy changes, student clubs seem to be adapting well “since we [the Student Senate] explained them at the beginning of the school year before any major programming took place.” Strauss however noted that it becomes tougher to program a Chipotle/Panera-type of events because they often exceed the criteria for a small event as per the policy.

“This change necessitates more mindful event planning because exemptions require paperwork and groups that usually hold larger events now have to shift to using catering services,” she said. According to her, there are worries that students won’t show up to club events if they know the food is from catering, “but we have been actively working with clubs to help them.”

“My only critique of the policy is that Dining cannot always compete with other local restaurants when it comes to last-minute orders,” Strauss said, “Clubs will often order pizzas from Miseno’s as a short-notice dinner option during a meeting, and right now there isn’t a feasible substitute for this from catering.”

Strauss noted that if students would like to discuss this policy further, the Student Senate invites the whole campus to attend their meetings, and ask about it during “Comments for the Good of the College” section of the meeting.