As Cornell University and our peer institutions continue to monitor and adapt to the situation with Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), we're reaching out to let you know about several precautionary measures Cornell Dining is implementing beginning Wednesday, March 11 to help safeguard the health of our students, staff, faculty, and other guests. This will mean some changes to service, as well as some compromises to our sustainability efforts, and we appreciate your patience.

• We are eliminating all self-service at all Cornell Dining eateries, and having staff members serve items
• Where it's impractical to have a staff member serving an item, some items may be temporarily removed or stations closed
• Because it is a purely self-service concept, Straight from the Market will be closed for now
• Guests with special dietary needs should ask a manager for items that have been available for self-service in the past
• All single-serving bakery items will be individually wrapped
• We're switching to all disposable plates, cups, and flatware at all of our eateries, and at Catering events where possible
• We're suspending our Reusable Takeout Container program at dining rooms and will instead provide disposable containers as necessary
• We're aksi suspending the use of reusable mugs, the Mug Club program, and the Kick the Cup program at our coffee shops or other eateries
• We're asking guests not to refill cups at our beverage stations, but to take a clean cup for each drink

  

At the same time, we're emphasizing best hygiene practices, with an increase in available hand sanitizer dispensers, consistent signage for handwashing and coughing/sneezing hygiene, and additional wipedowns of serving counters and tables with disposable sanitizer wipes.

  

Despite the changes to Cornell's operations this spring, the Cornell Food Pantry will remain open through the semester.

Update: Effective March 17, all Cornell Dining eateries are serving meals for takeout only, per New York State's guidelines that also affect area restaurants. You're welcome to take as much as you'd like to eat when you visit our dining rooms, in a disposable takeout container. Sorry, due to the Coronavirus pandemic's unusual hygienic concerns, we can't continue the use of our reusable takeout containers, or any reusable drink containers, at this time.

  

About Cornell Dining

Cornell Dining is consistently ranked in the Princeton Review's top ten for best campus food among all colleges and universities in the country. That high rating comes from customer surveys, and reflects Cornell Dining's commitment to serving high-quality foods that are healthy and creatively prepared with genuine care for a diverse community. Cornell Dining operates 29 on-campus eateries -- which include all-you-care-to-eat dining rooms, cafés, coffee houses, food courts, and convenience stores -- and serves more than 23,000 meals a day to members of the Cornell community. For more information, visit dining.cornell.edu.