We started this blog to celebrate a fondness for the dining experience and help our readers maximize their use of Garvey. While Garvey Commons is just a cafeteria, it offers many options and ways to access and experience it that goes beyond a simple swipe.
We started the semester with an appreciation of the work that Garvey’s staff puts into connecting with the campus community while striving to offer nutritious, tasty food for everyone — regardless of dietary restrictions.
We are ending the semester with everyone appreciating those same workers as people providing an essential service for campus by offering a nutritious meal for students, who don’t have anywhere else to go during a pandemic.
As we end our blog, there are so many topics we wanted to cover that we just haven’t had the time to explore with you.
Here is a mini look at 10 Garvey Commons attributes:
Who provides our food?
Chartwells is St. Cloud State University’s dining provider and runs Garvey Commons, but what is Chartwells. The company’s higher education division runs dining services at 300 campuses across the country. They are actually dedicated to building community on the campuses they serve and are run by a woman CEO, Lisa McEuen.
Garvey Commons staff work hard to put on programming to keep student diners engaged.
Events
Chartwells offers so many events including Premium nights for residential students, chef battles, theme days, and a Teaching Kitchen. These offerings are designed to be fun, engaging and show the creativity that goes into building community and excitement around what Garvey offers.
Pizza-to-Go was a new promotional offer in Garvey Commons this semester.
Pizza-to-Go
This winter Garvey rolled out a new take-out option for pizza at $5.99 for a 16-inch pizza or $8.99 for a combo deal with two 20 ounce sodas. A secondary to-go soup option was also available for a limited time.
A wall near the tray return is dedicated to tracking sustainability initiative progress.
Sustainability
Chartwells is committed to sustainable food practice and committed to using sustainable seafood, antibiotic-free chicken and Fair Trade certified coffee along with efforts to reduce food waste.
This bank of doors opposite the tray return is not an exit, but it once was before Garvey Commons was remodeled.
Garvey mysteries
There is a bank of doors opposite the tray return, which indicates Garvey was once set up very differently. When it opened in 1963, Garvey Commons sat 450 and had two service counters. It was remodeled and expanded to connect to Sherburne Hall in 1987 and expanded to seat 1,100.
A to-go box offered by Garvey. This is the small box, there is a larger one available as well.
Getting a to-go box
Students living in the residential halls can buy a reusable box to fill up with food and take to eat at home, in Atwood Memorial Center or outside on a nice day.
Student eat at Garvey Commons in the 1970s before the building was remodeled. Photo Courtesy of University Archives
Garvey’s namesake
Who was Beth Porter Garvey, and why is her name on the cafeteria we all know and love? Garvey was St. Cloud State’s first dean of women in 1925. She worked for the university until her retirement in 1953, 10 years before Garvey Commons opened to student diners.
Closer look at lunch and dinner
We had the opportunity to highlight breakfast but unfortunately didn’t have the chance to look at lunch and dinner options. Included with the dinner option is the special premium night that Garvey offers on Tuesdays.
Allergies
While most people who frequent Garvey don’t have to think twice about allergies, there are many others who have to worry about what was used to make their food. Garvey offers a G8 option that allows students with allergies to eat worry free.
Recipes
Since I (Breianna) have had a meal plan since 2016 I’ve found ways to mix up the different options that Garvey has to offer. My favorite is using the Mongolian Grill to create salads, or fajitas. The true ‘hack’ to Garvey is using it like a grocery store (in conjunction with a to-go box) to create great food options in your dorm room or apartment.
While this semester may not have offered the opportunity to fully explore the topics above as much as we would have liked, it did offer us the opportunity to introduce the idea that Garvey is more than just a cafeteria. It also helped us to develop a deeper appreciation of Garvey Commons and the work that goes into feeding a campus.
So thank you for “Hacking Garvey” with us this semester! Our hope is that you have a newfound appreciation for campus dining. Garvey gets a lot of slack from students all the time, but if you just look a little closer you can find a deep appreciation for what Garvey has to offer.