Photo by Emma Quirk ‘26.
Geoffrey Searl and Shawn Kelsey speaking to members of the Mount Holyoke Senate on Tuesday.
By Paige Comeau ’26
Staff Writer
The Student Government Association Senate began on Nov. 7 by reading off the agenda, which included the Mount Holyoke College Land Acknowledgment, guest speakers from Dining Services, E-Board updates and an open floor.
The Senate E-Board led the land acknowledgment and informed students that a new Indigenous nation would be announced at the next senate meeting as part of the senate’s monthly recognition. Then, senate leaders announced guest speakers Geoffrey Searl, associate vice president of hospitality operations, and Shawn Kelsey, associate director of culinary operations.
Searl began the presentation with his thoughts on the state of Dining Services and answered some questions senators had previously submitted.
Searl estimated that at the beginning of the year, Dining Services staff was down by about 25%. However, they have recently cultivated a new relationship with a temporary agency that allows them to recruit workers to become full-time employees.
According to Searl, Dining Services has a high recruitment rate, having gained somewhere north of 18 to 20 workers over the last few months. The Dining Team has added new positions to account for turnover by continuously recruiting to prevent further staffing challenges. They are also working to create more jobs for students under Mount Holyoke’s work-study program.
Searl addressed student questions about food labeling inconsistencies between actual food items available in the dining hall, the online menu and the paper labels in the Dining Commons.
The Dining staff is looking to create a labeling system that is more effective. Searl discussed the new system, which uses electronic placards with digital ink. These displays would allow them to make real-time updates more easily. When a senator asked if the brightness on the placards could be turned up for readability, Searl responded that he would look into it.
Searl, who began working at the College in January, has been hoping to make adjustments to the music played in dining locations. Recently, Dining Services switched to using Rockbot. — an AI DJ that allows the dining staff to have greater control over the type, energy and selection of music played at dining locations — as their primary method of music selection. The dining staff hopes to expand this program, allowing students to customize the music in the Dining Commons.
Later, Searl noted that Dining Services plans to replace the hard plastic lids of the USEFULL bowls with a silicone material. The USEFULL company will retrieve the out-of-use plastic lids once they are phased out, a transition that will begin soon. Searl also stated that the USEFULL company was currently testing out the idea of silicone dividers for the containers.
Searl also delivered a long–awaited piece of good news: On Nov. 8, students would receive access to five guest swipes per semester through their meal plan rather than three. When asked if the current swipes available on student accounts would be reset or simply adjusted, Searl stated that they would be adjusted. He stated that everyone should get two extra swipes, before humorously adding that if you do end up getting five extra swipes, you shouldn’t tell anyone because then “we’ll have to fix it.”
To finish, Searl emphasized that students have many ways to contact Dining Services — this includes giving feedback, asking a question or stating something as simple as the Dining Commons being out of ketchup. He stressed that there is a QR code for a feedback form right at the front entrance of the Dining Commons. Students can give any feedback using that form, good or bad, although he noted they do receive a lot of good feedback from students using the form. Students can email the dining staff at the dining@mtholyoke.edu address, which gets checked regularly. Searl is also available to be asked a question in person if students catch him around campus.
Shawn Kelsey, associate director of culinary service, took the microphone next to answer food-specific questions from the senators. He began his speech by announcing some of the new undertakings Dining Services is working on implementing. Currently, the Cochary Pub & Kitchen is open Tuesday through Friday during the day and Friday through Saturday at night, with a limited menu.
By the Spring 2024 semester, Kelsey hopes to open the pub back up every night, Tuesday through Saturday, with an expanded menu. This new menu would add back items previously available prior to the pub’s temporary closing in 2020, such as the turkey burger, as well as create new options for students. When asked if any of these options could be made gluten-free, Kelsey assured students that such an adjustment would be simple and that he would work on creating that choice moving forward.
Another new program that Dining Services is piloting is vendor showings. As seen several times this year, the dining hall has occasionally set up a farm table at the front of the Dining Commons showcasing Mount Holyoke’s local produce partners. For example, on Nov. 8, the Dining Commons hosted Queen’s Greens, a farm in Amherst, Massachusetts, from which Mount Holyoke receives much of its produce.
Dining Services is taking steps to bring new and exciting changes to the menu, including adding sushi and other items to the menu at Kendade Grab & Go. Recently, the Dining Commons has also switched from a 3-week menu cycle to a 4-week menu cycle, allowing for a greater variety of foods served over the semester. Moreover, the Dining Commons has adjusted the menu to allow the repetition of student favorites. Staffers use factors like the length of the lines in the Dining Commons or the amount of leftover food to determine these favorites.
Kelsey then discussed food safety and quality, which they insisted was of the utmost importance to the dining workers. However, upholding the highest quality and safety standards requires a certain level of training, which is difficult to manage with such a large number of temporary workers. This is especially complicated considering the complex menu Mount Holyoke must produce to ensure students are not eating the same things too often. Kelsey urged students to be patient with Dining Services as they continue to train recruits and work on raising internal standards.
On this note, Kelsey reminded students to grab a new plate every time they go up to get more food to ensure no cross-contamination. Along the same lines, he asked students not to bring their own Tupperware containers but to use USEFULL instead, as the containers allow dining staff to ensure clean and safe conditions.
Kelsey finished with a discussion on sustainability, stating that Dining Services purchases 23.9% of their product locally, a percentage they hope to increase. Some of these providers include Austen Brothers Valley Farm in Belchertown, Adams Farm in Athol and Sobieski's River Valley Farm in Whately.
When purchasing animals for meat, Kelsey explained, Dining Services tries to utilize the entire animal rather than just selective cuts of meat — for example, using the bones to make broth. Additionally, the dining staff works to compost as much food from the dining hall as possible, although they would ideally like to avoid any food waste at all. Kelsey highlighted the different types of food waste, including pre-consumer food waste — scraps —, post-consumer food waste — leftovers — and consumer food waste. Kelsey emphasized the importance of educating the community on food waste and sustainability.
After their presentations ended, Searl and Kelsey took a few quick questions, and the senate thanked them for coming before announcing E-Board updates. Reminding students to scan the QR code on the Newsflush newsletters available in residence hall bathrooms if they want their information to be put in the newsletter’s next edition. Following this, senate hosted open floor, where Senators, including the 1837 Hall senator and the Mount Holyoke English Handbell Ensemble representative, brought up concerns and raised announcements. After this, senate concluded.