On Nov. 14, Dining Services at the University of Minnesota Duluth announced reduced hours and the halting of sit-down dining for the Superior Dining Center, along with the closure of the Plaza Food Court.
Dining Service student employees and students living on-campus at UMD received an email informing them of the changes. Student employees were informed that they would be unable to return to work until further notice, while on-campus students were informed that they would be limited to take-out options from the Superior Dining Center.
“We have acknowledged an increase in COVID-19 on our campus. To keep our work circles small, provide safety for all employees, and ensure safety for you and your families over the break, we will no longer be providing hours to our student workers for the remainder of the Fall Semester,” the email to student workers read.
Students living off-campus did not receive notice of the changes. This was due to lack of access to student emails, Kristin Trelstad, Communications Specialist for UMD Dining Services, said.
The announcement came ten days before UMD’s Thanksgiving break. UMD Dining Services Director Betsy Helgesen shared that the decision was made out of concern for student travel plans over the break, and rising COVID-19 cases in the Duluth community.
“It's so confusing because it’s such a weird situation … there’s not a one size fits all,” Helgesen said. “We’ve been really lucky to hold out this long.”
The Superior Dining Center is operating under reduced hours, allowing students to get meals from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
“Since they reduced the open times in the [Dining Center], more students are in the halls as usual,” UMD first-year student and on-campus resident Brianna Fabian said. “I have seen and passed by more people now than I have ever seen before the [Dining Center] closed. Lines are longer because of reduced times as well.”
Fabian also expressed concern regarding students working during the operating times of the Superior Dining Center, leaving them with limited options for food if their shift ends after 7 p.m. and starts in the afternoon.
During the closure of UMD’s campus last spring, student workers at UMD Dining Services were offered continued pay throughout the remainder of the spring semester. However, this is not currently the case. While union and full-time workers will remain employed with Dining Services, student workers were laid off without pay.
“This kind of came out of nowhere and we kind of got screwed,” Aaron Klaers, a student employee at Dining Services said. “This is my only source of income. It’s my only way to pay rent.”
Klaers added that the recent layoff is just “another reason” to discontinue employment with Dining Services, citing worsening working conditions for student workers.
Helgesen said that the continued pay last spring was an anomaly, and University policy does not permit payment for those students laid off during the pandemic. She added that there would likely be less than 50% of student workers returning after Thanksgiving, which would leave these employees with ten days of unpaid work.
“I usually keep my mouth shut when something doesn't go my way, but I know I speak for the majority of people when I say that I'm upset about the changes with the [Dining Center],” Zach Soelter, a UMD student living on-campus, said.
The Dining Center is currency only offering food for students who have purchased a to-go box — a one-time fee of $5 — and a meal plan or Dining Dollars.
“If they aren’t going to let kids eat normally, that is ridiculous that we should have to pay extra money on top of our expensive meal plan to eat a limited portion of garbage food,” UMD first-year student and on-campus resident Grant Benson said.
Benson also expressed frustration over the closure of the Plaza Food Court, which Helgesen said was due to lack of staffing, and the prioritizing of the Superior Dining Center in order to ensure full meals for students on meal plans who have no other options.
Soelter and Benson shared concerns over the hassle of the take-out boxes, with limited space for food and potential waste or messes.
“For the people who have unlimited meal plans, it is no longer an easy option to eat as much as they would like because of the small size of the to-go box,” Soelter said. “If you pay for the unlimited meal plan you should be able to eat for what you paid for.”
According to Helgesen, the Dining Center hopes to be able to serve students without meal plans after Thanksgiving, and UMD Dining Services hopes to re-open the Plaza Food Court and sit-down dining in the spring semester.
“I know there’s a lot of people who are super frustrated with us,” Helgesen said. “I think everyone is just trying to do the best they can.”
On Nov. 18, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced the closure of all dine-in services for bars and restaurants in the state.
“We were motivated by the same concerns, but we're just a few days early,” Helgesen said of the recent changes.
