Garrett Jackson
Staff Writer
C.J. Morris
Contributor
As Troy University grows, the Trojan Dining Hall is continuing to make an effort to impress students by creating new menu items and promoting student feedback, according to Bradford Griffin, the operations manager at the Trojan Dining Hall.
“Troy Dining is making updates to its menus and venues, as well working with students and engaging their food specifics and needs,” Griffin said.
Updates are being made for the deli, pizza line, vegetarian line and Magellan’s, he added.
“We’re working on moving the deli to the front, because it is hidden in the corner by the dessert line, and we want it to be a visible alternative to Boar’s Head,” Griffin said. “Magellan’s stir fry is expanding by adding a grab-n-go bar with already cooked foods for students running in between classes.
“The pizza and vegetarian line is filled with more options, such as spinach pizza, buffalo sauce pizza, grains, couscous and more.”
Brian Brown, the production manager at Trojan Dining Hall, said Troy is doing its best to give international students some cuisine they might recognize.
“We have a lot of international students that come here from a lot of different countries, and so we want to give them a little taste of home,” Brown said. “Little things like curry and sweet and sour chicken have been added to the menu to meet student needs.”
Ibrahim Yildirim, the general manager at Trojan Dining Hall, said the dining hall has made an effort to add to and reboot its menu, so students are getting more diverse sets of foods and beverages such as almond milk, soy milk and 2% milk.
According to Yildirim, he and other staff members are working to interact with students in the dining hall to find out what students want to see.
According to Elizabeth Eaise, the unit marketing manager, new stations are being added such as a taco and nacho bar, more grab-n-go bars and a simple serving dining option for students with allergies or who prefer simpler foods.
Eaise said she was once a student here at Troy University and could not eat much of the foods at the dining hall due to gluten intolerance, so she made suggestions to the staff to add simpler food and food safety for students with allergies.
Eaise was later hired at Troy University to work for the dining hall.
Victoria Cirilli, a junior multimedia journalism major from Foley and marketing intern at Trojan Dining Hall, said she is looking forward to the improvements the dining hall is making.
“The new developments are things we have improved upon, such as quality and authenticity, giving students that mix of foreign cuisine and Southern flair,” Cirilli said. “Trojan Dining does continuous dining and is constantly encouraging (students) to stay active with its affairs via word-of-mouth or the Troy Dining website.”
While Troy Dining is trying new things, Cirilli said students should still feel free to let Troy Dining know about potential improvements or concerns.
“Events for the semester are constantly being promoted to gauge the student body and also through surveys,” Cirilli said. “The Trojan Dining staff wants all students to feel comfortable voicing their food interests and opinions.”
Those wishing to provide feedback to the Trojan Dining Hall should contact it via social media or the email addresses provided on the flyers in Trojan Dining Hall, or they can email Elizabeth Eaise at elizabeth.eaise@sodexo.com.
