Penn State South Food District Temporary Hours Impacting Students
Penn State Dining made temporary changes to its hourly schedule at select dining locations on campus due to staffing shortages.
This includes the South Food District in Redifer Commons, which starting Sunday, Oct. 16, is now only open for students Monday through Friday.
Student Lily Abinader finds herself at Redifer often on weekends.
“South is the closest dining hall to my apartment downtown so it’s nice to be able to go to Redifer on the weekends because I can still use my meal plan,” Abinader (senior-marketing) said. “I also like to go to Redifer on Sunday nights to eat and do homework and just prepare for the week.”
Penn State Dining released a statement urging students living in South Halls to visit the nearby Pollock Dining Commons as a weekend alternative for all-you-can-eat brunch and dinner.
South Halls made these changes in an effort to deliver students with the best dining experience possible, and the best quality food, during these challenging times.
Associate Director of Campus Residential Dining Jim Meinecke told CommRadio through email that the customers always come first, and everything campus dining has done has been with the customer experience in mind, and the team is hopeful things will bounce back soon.
Many South Hall residents, like Eliza Glunt, will miss their Sunday study breaks at Redifer.
“This is where I go to eat and it’s so convenient for me,” Glunt (freshman-psychology) said. “Now I have to go to Pollock or West, which is just a little more of a hassle. It just takes more time out of my day when I could be doing work.”
Louie’s Convenience Store in South will remain open during its regular weekend hours of 9 a.m. to midnight, and students have also seen the reopening of In A Pickle Deli Station on Oct. 25, now open Monday through Friday.
Students can stay up to date with the latest dining hours and location announcements by visiting foodservices.psu.edu.
Lizzie Friel is a fourth-year student majoring in digital/print journalism. To contact her, email esf5107@psu.edu.
