Author: Desroches, Rebecca

Give A Meal on Nov 9 to Support Students First Fund

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Dining Services will be hosting our bi-annual Give-A-Meal on Wednesday, November 9th. All eight residential dining halls will be participating from 4-7:15pm. Over the years this program has supported various on- and off-campus organizations.
How it works: when students with a meal plan come to dinner on the 9th they can donate an extra meal swipe to help out their fellow huskies. All proceeds from this event will go to support the Students First Fund, through the Division of Student Affairs, to assist students experiencing food insecurity.
More details about the Student First Fund can be found at studentaffairs.uconn.edu/students-first-fund/

UConn Bakery Thanksgiving Pie & Baked Goods Sale

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Your favorite pie sale from UConn Bakery (Not just desserts) is back! This year new items have been added!! Check out all the pies, cheesecakes, dinner rolls, and sweet treats for your Thanksgiving table! Gluten-free pies and cheesecake are also available.

This sale is open to the campus community and the public.

Order today! The deadline to place orders is Friday, November 11th by 4pm. Order pick up is Wednesday, November 23rd from 8:30am-2:30pm at the bakery. Orders cannot be picked up prior to the 23rd. Our online store accepts debit/credit cards.

Order here: https://bit.ly/UConnBakeryThanksgiving or you can also find the link to our store on the Bakery website at dining.uconn.edu/bakery

If you prefer to pay personal check, you will need to call our office at 860-486-3128 during business hours to place an order. Please mail or hand deliver your payment to the Department of Dining Services 3384 Towers Loop Rd, U-4071, Storrs. We are located on the first floor of the Wade Building. Check payments must be received by 4pm on November 11th, 2022.

Staff Profile: Penni Corcoran

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Current Position at UConn Dining Services: Validine Operator at McMahon for the last 5 years – validine operators greet all the students and guests at the dining hall and assist them with questions, tapping their OneCards, and meal purchase transactions.

What was your journey before coming to UConn? I graduated from nearby E.O. Smith High School, taught English in Brazil for 3 years, worked at CT Bank and Trust and also as a nurse aide.

What has been your journey at UConn Dining? I started at UConn in 1994 as a validine operator at Russell A&B. Other positions included receptionist at the Dining main office, receptionist at Jonathan’s Restaurant, chef assistant, location lead, and kitchen assistant. Although I retired from full-time employment, I am still at McMahon on a part time basis.

What do you love about your job? I love interacting with the students and visitors. I treat the kids like they are mine. I love listening to their stores and adventures. I am a huge sports fan and over the years I have bonded and kept in touch with a lot of the student athletes and other students on social media.

What is your favorite menu item at UConn? I love the food at McMahon! My favorite item is salmon and steamed veggies.

What are some fond memories you have of your time at UConn? We used to have a barbecue every week at Jonathan’s Restaurant. I liked helping serve and prepare food. My special memories are working with different types of people. South was my favorite dining hall. I trained a lot of kitchen assistants.

Celebrating Penni's birthday!

Dining During Thanksgiving Break: Nov 18th-27th

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Thanksgiving Header

A change in operations for Thanksgiving break will begin on Friday, November 18th with the following schedule:

  • Breakfast: All dining halls 7am-11am
  • Lunch: All dining halls 11am-2:15pm
  • Dinner: South & North open 4:15-7:15pm

Residential meal plans will shut down for break after dinner on Friday, November 18th.

Staying on Campus During Thanksgiving Break? If you have a residential meal plan and will be on campus during Thanksgiving break please fill out our form to sign up for meals. There is no extra cost for the meals during break. dining.uconn.edu/thanksgiving-break-meals-fall-2022

RETAIL LOCATIONS

Visit dining.uconn.edu/hours for retail hours from 11/18-11/27.

DINING HALLS DURING BREAK

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served at the following locations during break.
Breakfast is served from 7:00am – 9:30am, Lunch from 11:00am – 2:15pm, and Dinner from 4:00pm – 7:15pm.

  • Sat., Nov. 19 - South
  • Sun., Nov. 20 - Buckley
  • Mon., Nov. 21 - Buckley
  • Tues., Nov. 22 - Buckley
  • Wed., Nov. 23 - Buckley
  • Thurs., Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving) - All Dining Services operations will be closed
  • Fri., Nov. 25 - Buckley
  • Sat., Nov. 26 - Buckley

Meal plans resume on Sunday, November 27th with the following schedule:

  • Breakfast (South): 8-10:30am
  • Brunch (Northwest & South): 10:30am-2:15pm
  • Dinner (All units except Buckley): 4:15-7:15pm
  • Late Night (Northwest & McMahon): open until 10pm

Staff Profile: Baker Matt Beckwith

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Current Position at UConn Dining Services: Baker in the UConn Dining Services Bakery

How did you get into the food industry?: I was raised in a big Italian family so cooking has always been a big part of my life. I grew up in and out of the kitchen and used to love watching cooking shows growing up so I decided food was going to be my future. I started my cooking journey at Windham Tech and that's essentially how I got my job here but continued on to Manchester Community College where I received an associates in Food Service Management.

What has been your journey at UConn Dining?: I have been working here in the bakery for about 15 years. I started as a student worker in high school for work-based learning and then ended up getting a full time spot here in college where I worked up from a kitchen assistant to the baker I am now.

What do you love about your job at UConn/UConn Dining?: Baking is so rewarding! There's nothing better than watching a fresh loaf come out of the oven. I always love trying to think up new ways to get bread out to the students and coming up with new recipes. 

What do you like to do in your spare time? I'm a big foodie at heart so when I do travel, its eat and drink. Aside from that I enjoy powerlifting and practicing Muay Thai. I'm also an avid gamer and enjoy playing all types of games.

What activities or events have you enjoyed being a part of at UConn?: Some of my favorite events we participate in is the Spring Fling cake/cupcakes and setting up the Thanksgiving Pie Sale.

Fun Facts From the Bakery: We make on average about 3000lbs of pizza dough a week.

Matt Beckwith
Matt Beckwith
Loaf of Sliced Bread

Staff Profile: Sue Meduna

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Current Position at UConn Dining Services: Location Supervisor for 3 years at Mango

History at UConn Dining:  I started working at UConn Dining when I was in high school - Commons Dining Hall in 1984. I have worked at UConn for most of my life. Positions have included:

Jonathans Restaurant Supervisor
Production Kitchen
Location Lead & Location Supervisor at Union Street Market

What do you love about your job at UConn/UConn Dining: I love working with the students and value all the friendships I have gained throughout the years. I like to believe that I have made a little difference in the students lives that I have worked with. I know that I continue to learn every day from the diversity of students that I come in contact with. I do believe this career keeps me young at heart.

What is something you like to do in your spare time? photography, drone photography, going to the beach, mountains, and sunrises on Horsebarn Hill

Do you have a favorite menu item at UConn: UConn Dairy Bar ice cream

What activities or events have you enjoyed being a part of at UConn?: I love to promote special events for Dining. Some events have included: Opening day baseball, Superbowl, Hawaiian shirt days, Mardi Gras, Spirit Weeks. These special events were accompanied by special menus and included the Dining staff to participate with fun attire to match. Most recently we did a UConn Final Four event at Mango which included blue and white smoothies and our own Mango Mike!

Hawaiian shirt day
Hawaiian Day at Mango

NOSH Kosher Kitchen Schedule for Upcoming Holidays

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NOSH Kosher Kitchen at Gelfenbien Dining Hall will be closed for the following holidays. Please review the Hillel House website for meals and services that will be provided. https://www.uconnhillel.org/

Rosh Hashanah

  • September 25th  – dinner
  • September 26th  – all day
  • September 27th  – all day

Yom Kippur

  • October 4th  – dinner
  • October 5th – all day

Sukkot

  • October 9th  – dinner
  • October 10th  – all day
  • October 11th – all day

Shemini Atzert

  • October 16th – dinner
  • October 17th – all day
  • October 18th – all day

UConn Chefs to hold Cooking Demos at Celebrate Mansfield

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UConn Dining will once again be at the Celebrate Mansfield event on September 24th in downtown Storrs! Our chefs will be cooking up some delicious recipes and then giving out samples. At 2:30pm Chef Ron Swiller will prepare a Savory Smoked Salmon Cheesecake Appetizer and at 3:30pm Chef Rob Landolphi will prepare Cinnamon Chipotle Cachapas with Black Bean Avocado Salsa.

The Dairy Bar truck and Food for the Pack food truck will also be there.

Join the Mansfield Downtown Partnership for a day full of music, food, and fun for all ages!
Check out more details on the festival at https://www.downtownstorrsfestival.org/

 

 

Green Piece Reusable To-Go Container Program

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The Dining Services Green Piece program at the Student Union is back! Join the program and you will be able to ask your server at the Union Street Market (USM), Earth, Wok & Fire or One Plate, Two Plates to prepare your food in the Green Piece container. With each use of the Green Piece container you receive .50 cents off your meal. When finished eating, drop in the return bin outside the USM and we do the cleaning. With the one time $5 enrollment cost it pays for itself with 10 uses. See more details on the program at https://dining.uconn.edu/thegreenpiece/

Farm Fresh Market Moves to Fairfield Way on Fridays

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Farm Fresh Market Header

Shop local at the Farm Fresh Market on the Storrs campus. Open to all!!

Farm Fresh Market hosted by UConn Dining is being held on Fridays from 11:30am-1:30pm on Fairfield Way near the library. Pick up some fresh produce from UConn Spring Valley Student Farm, baked goods from UConn Bakery and then grab lunch from the Food for the Pack truck. Farm Fresh Market accepts credit/debit only. Follow market updates at @uconndining on Instagram.

At Spring Valley our growing methods include:

  • No pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, GMO seeds, or chemical fertilizers.
  • Prioritizing biodiversity and respectful stewardship of Spring Valley’s natural resources.
  • Preserving biodiversity among crops, pollinators, and wildlife.

Ask us about our sustainable growing practices!

Spring Valley also hosts Farm Fridays from 4-6pm. This is a great way to get involved, help out at the farm for a few hours, and meet some new people. Stop by and ask the student farmers for details or learn more here.