By Emily Ramser
Photo by Lesly Luna
The Dining Board, which was introduced at the Oct. SGA Town Hall meeting, is a collection of students who meet with Dining Services once a month to discuss their concerns regarding the food at Salem.
“Our mission is to bring better transparency between Dining Services and the student body. We want to be able to hear the concerns, wants, needs of the student body and see what we can do to make the dining experience better for students,” said Dining Board co-chair, senior Carly Caldwell. The Board is headed by co-chairs Caldwell and senior Alexa Allen. Caldwell works with the Refectory staff through her position in Salem’s Food Recovery Network, a club which works to eliminate food waste by donating extra food to local soup kitchens in the area.
Upon attending September’s Dining Board meeting, senior Emily “Gil” Gilmore felt more confident that the Refectory was working towards making the changes needed. “I’m very excited about Salem’s willingness and openness to change,” said Gilmore. Gilmore went on to say that at the meeting, various health concerns were addressed such as the wearing of hairnets by staff. Gilmore also said, “My issue isn’t with the quality of the food. It’s with the following of protocol for cleaning, sanitation, and appearance, but I have full confidence in Tera and her staff that they are making the corrections needed.”
The Board is also composed of class representatives, SGA President Senior Megan Cook, and Dining Services Director Tera Perez. In addition, Dining Services can invite students who are non-SGA affiliated to attend these meetings as well. Those interested in attending a meeting, who are not class representatives, should contact Caldwell or Allen through their Salem emails or via dining.board@salem.edu.
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