COD offers a variety of food options on campus, including Subway, Brew 425, the Chaps rotating restaurant and other snacks in the cafeteria. With these places, students can get something to eat without leaving campus in between classes, but only until 4 p.m. at the very latest. For students who attend night classes at COD, there are few choices for food outside of vending machines. 

“The [meal] options offered at COD are pretty limited after hours,” student Jacob Messina said. “I’ve been around [campus] a couple of times for night classes and have practically never really seen much of anything in the cafeteria.” 

According to cod.edu, from Monday through Thursday the latest you can get food from anywhere on campus is at 4 p.m. from Brew 425. On Fridays, the latest you can get food from anywhere besides the vending machines is at 2 p.m. Not all students who are in classes for most of the day have the time to get food off campus.  

“I have yet to notice any food options at COD during night classes,” student Diego Anguiano said. “The cafeteria closes in the middle of the day, and I’ve always assumed that there were no [other] food choices for students after that point.”

The COD campus offers a variety of snacks and food options in the vending machines, but there are times when they aren’t stocked with those choices. If students are given more chances to get food on campus easily, they wouldn’t have to rush to get meals off campus before classes or go home hungry.  

“If COD doesn’t wish to open the cafeteria for students after a certain point, then at the very least keeping the various vending machines stocked would go a long way for students with night classes,” Anguiano said. 

Sodexo is the company that manages the food options on campus, including Subway, Brew 425 and the Chaps rotating restaurant. Since the pandemic, multiple changes have been made to the way each place is run, and the Chick-fil-A and Einstein Bros. Bagels locations have been removed. 

“As so many businesses have had to be flexible and make adjustments in this time, we are also in the same situation, and still recovering,” Sodexo manager Lynn Konicek said. “However, I feel it is important to stress what we are doing, and that is serving the College community in a variety of ways. From Subway, to our weekly rotating venue, both hot and cold grab-and-go items, soup station, bakery items, Brew 425, catering both to staff and faculty, as well as a new catering guide for students; staff is working harder than ever, and serving the College every day.”

There are two places on the COD campus that are student-run called the Waterleaf Restaurant and the Wheat Café; both of which require reservations. The Wheat Café is open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and you have to place your order online. The Waterleaf restaurant is open for lunch with reservations available at 11:15, 11:30 and 11:45 a.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays; dinner reservations are available at 7 and 7:15 p.m. on Tuesdays.

“Having worked in the Café and the Waterleaf, I’ve only had positive experiences,” student worker Matthew Drover said. “It’s advertised well and all students should know about it, but it is [run] by reservations; the dining experience is really well done, and not expensive at all. Opening them up to walk-ins would be the best, but the way the kitchens are used would have to completely change; it is still a controlled learning environment.”

Konicek commented on the lack of options after 4 p.m., saying there are fewer customers in the evenings. She also said there is a noticeable drop in customers after 2 p.m., which is why most things are closed into the afternoon and night classes. 

“Sodexo and the college are in discussions this year as to what food service will look like at COD next year and moving forward. Input from our customers regarding new ideas is always appreciated,” Konicek said.