At the beginning of the 2021 fall semester, Dining Services announced an upcoming partnership with USEFULL, a company run by a Mount Holyoke alumna, Alison Rogers ’12. USEFULL works to reduce waste and positively impact consumption patterns by providing a sustainable, reusable alternative to single-use takeout products. USEFULL claims that switching to their reusable containers can save colleges an estimated 50 - 84 percent on the cost of single-use to-go packaging
With the highest number of students back on campus since March 2020, Mount Holyoke College has made several changes to accommodate the surge in activity while protecting students’ safety. The most striking of these changes is perhaps in Dining Services, where dining rooms have closed and a takeout-only policy has been adopted. The Dining Commons are no longer a hub of social activity. Instead, students file through the dining center in one direction, stopping at stations where dining staff serve them under plastic barriers.
“Safety is hands down the goal but having great food needs to happen, especially during stressful and challenging times,” Richard Perna, director of Dining Services at Mount Holyoke College said. According to Perna, the past five months have been challenging for the dining staff, who have been constantly navigating and pivoting in response to COVID-19.
