Dickinson has seen an increase in illnesses since returning from winter break, which has added interest in  the sick meals supplied by Dining Services. Students can order take-out meals from the Dining Hall for a multitude of reasons including flu, other illnesses, injuries and COVID-19 isolation.

Errol Huffman, Director of Dining Services, said that Dining Services “provides base needs and gives students nutritional options.” Sick meals still allow students to maintain a healthy lifestyle even when not able to come to the Dining Hall. He said sick meals have “evolved over time” to the different needs of sick and injured students. 

Students can obtain a sick meal by going to Dining Services website and clicking on the “Dietary and Allergen Information” tab, then clicking “Sick, Injured, or Isolated Meals.” From there, students follow directions to select what type of meal they want. Flyers with QR codes are also posted around campus to allow ease of ordering. 

In the online portal, students can select specific meal options depending on needs. For breakfast sick meals, it is possible to select light fare foods such as oatmeal, a jello cup, banana, etc. Lunch and dinner meals consist of soup, crackers, applesauce, a jello cup, whole fruit and a water bottle. If students want something more filling, they can request main menu items instead of normal sick meal items. This would usually occur if the student is either almost done recovering from their illness or if they are simply injured. 

An ill or injured student must also designate a friend or roommate to pick up the food from the Dining Hall and deliver the meal. The student must submit the name of the friend on the online form and the sick student’s ID must also be brought to the dining hall. The friend would then obtain a to-go box and proceed to get the certain food items requested.

One common misconception about sick and injured meals is that the hot food will already be ready for pickup. While the sick meals containing mild and light foods will be pre-bagged, friends who wish to pick up main menu food items must get the certain foods that their sick friend would like from the respective stations in the Dining Hall. 

Sonya Wright, Assistant Director of Dining Services, said, “we let the friend choose the portion sizing based on feedback from the student, and maybe they want something from the salad bar or the ‘Encore Encore’ section which changes every day.” According to Mr. Huffman, a student “might change their mind and the student can communicate that interest with their friend” about what they would like. 

This option allows for flexibility and fresh food. Mr. Huffman said, “If we get a request for a meal and we pack it up in advance, it might sit in the warmer for a while, because we don’t know when someone will pick it up. It then gets very tired and not as good as we would like it to be.”