Lucas Chen '27
Nov 8, 2024
This year Mercersburg Academy’s dining service has undergone changes, with the school’s account with Merriwether Godsey under new executive management.
Head of School Quentin McDowell stated, “As a residential institution, we recognize the importance of the student experience, particularly as it relates to food. We have tried a number of different things this year aimed at enhancing our dining service, ranging from opening the True Blue Cafe more often to expanding options for breakfast.”
Students have mixed feelings about the offerings this year.
Returning student Konrad Spory ’26 said, “I think the dining food got a bit better to be honest. The variety of the food has definitely improved, and I also noticed that lunches were better this year.”
Christian Garcia Rivas ’27, who is new to the school this year, agrees, stating, “I think it is good. There is a great variety — Mexican food, Indian food, Asian food, and more. Especially when going to the dining hall after training, the food is great.”
On the other hand, four-year senior Hisano Enomoto ’25 has witnessed numerous years of Mercersburg dining. Enomoto said, “I’m pretty satisfied with the dining hall this year. I especially like that they have tuna salad for most of the lunches, so I can have a consistent lunch every day. But from last year, I don’t think too much has changed.”
Other students were less complimentary. William Choi ’26 stated, “I think it fell off, but it was never up to begin with. As long as they don’t give me chicken five days out of seven, I’ll be fine.”
Though the school has already made minor changes to the dining experience, even bigger changes are coming. McDowell commented, “While there have been many improvements to the dining experience that we feel good about, we still believe we can do better. The feedback we continue to ask for is helping guide our future decision making, which includes the school's decision to seek a new dining services provider that will hopefully be onboarded by the end of winter break or soon thereafter.” Chief Financial and Operating Officer Rochelle Hargraves, who oversees the food service contract, added, “In January, we will bring a new dining service provider to campus. Four companies have submitted proposals for dining services, and a selection process is currently underway to evaluate them. The more tangible changes will be seen once we make this change.”
Furthermore, Ford Hall itself will also undergo considerable upgrades. “In addition to changing our dining service vendor, we are preparing to renovate the dining center beginning in June 2025. Plenty of planning goes into this, especially since the dining center will be completely shut down during its renovation. Fortunately, this has no impact on this academic year,” Hargraves added.
The school community eagerly waits to see how the dining experience–-both the food and the facilities—will evolve and improve in the next several months.