PITTSBURGH — Some University of Pittsburgh students say long wait times at the main campus dining hall are making it hard to grab meals between classes.
Freshman Samuel Lard said the dining hall, known as “The Eatery,” often gets so crowded that he skips it altogether.
“During the lunch or dinner hours and especially breakfast hours, the lines are a mess,” Lard said. “It seems to be not worth it to go.”
Just a few weeks into the fall semester, students like Lard are already feeling the pressure.
He said the breakfast rush is especially difficult.
“For breakfast, for example, I have to get cereal in the morning to eat at my dorm, because I know the line here for breakfast is going to be way too long,” he said.
Lard is not alone.
Another freshman, Gabe Solano, said even a 15-minute wait can be too much when students are trying to eat, study and get to class.
“I normally have like an hour gap in between classes,” Solano said. “So if you’re there waiting in line and trying to get some studying in and trying to eat all at once, you’re going to feel like you’re on a crunch and get a bit stressful.”
University officials previously told Channel 11 that Pitt welcomed a record number of incoming freshmen this semester.
Employees at The Eatery told Channel 11 that staff shortages are making it harder to serve students quickly.
“They would run out of certain things, so like certain portions of rice,” one student said. “The portions would just get smaller as they were running out of food. So you would wait in a long line just to get a smaller plate of food. So it was kind of annoying.”
In a statement to Channel 11, a university spokesperson said:
“The University takes student dining very seriously and is in direct contact with both parents and students who share feedback. The Eatery, along with numerous other dining locations across campus, offers a wide variety of options throughout the day to meet student needs. We continuously monitor operations and adjust as needed to ensure every student has access to fresh, quality meals.
It is not accurate to say there are hour-long waits at The Eatery, nor has The Eatery run out of food for students. There is always a variety of food available at The Eatery and at other dining facilities across campus."
Still, some students say they often leave the dining hall without eating at all.
“Many times where I have gone in and just decided it’s not worth it,” Lard said.
Some students suggest that adding more dining locations across campus could help relieve the crowding and reduce wait times, especially for those who don’t use the campus specialty restaurants.
“If there’s one dining hall that’s closer to one building and there’s one that’s closer to another, that’s not going to be as hectic or as crowded as just this one right here,” Solano said.
While Pitt has two main dining halls, students say the second location at the upper campus is about a 15-minute walk, which doesn’t help, they said. when they’re already pressed for time.
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