Campus News

How UK Reimagined Campus Dining Services for Fall 2020 Including New Dining Options

Champions Kitchen reconfigured for physical distancing. Photo by Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.
Champions Kitchen reconfigured for physical distancing. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2020) — With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the University of Kentucky was faced with planning how to return to safe and reinvented normal operations for Fall 2020. Included in this was reimagining the dining experience for the UK community. 

"In these unprecedented times, the UK Dining team has a singular focus on keeping the UK community safe while delivering an exemplary guest experience," said UK Dining Resident District Manager Vigg Pulkit.

Dining halls opened and now operate with modifications that include transition from self-serve food options to served food options, following physical distance guidelines, and pre-packaged options. Seating in key dining areas has been significantly reduced and adjusted to comply with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UK’s START team. As part of the dining modifications, Fresh Food Company and Champions Kitchen are closing for an hour between each meal session to deep clean the spaces.

“While closing dining locations is inconvenient, we are doing it for the community’s best interest. We also want to encourage students to continue taking advantage of the multiple dining options that are available," said Sarah Nikirk, the executive director of UK’s Auxiliary Services. "There are plenty of places to sit and socially distance and be with your friends around campus.”

In addition to updated cleaning and safety measures, new dining options were added to campus including two food trucks, Papa John's and Nathan’s Taqueria, an expanded Wildcat Pantry at The 90, a NuHealth Smoothie Bar at the Johnson Center and an additional Chick-fil-A at The 90. Students can also now use meal swipes at locations other than Champions Kitchen.

Locations where students can use a meal swipe during lunch (11 a.m.–2 p.m. Monday through Friday)

  • Wildcat Pantry at Holmes Hall
  • Panda Express
  • Subway in Gatton Student Center
  • Auntie Anne's
  • Champions Kitchen
  • food truck #1 (Nathan's Taqueria, in front of William T. Young Library)
  • food truck #2 (Papa John's, on Patterson Drive by Fine Arts Building)
  • Intermezzo
  • Subway at M.I. King
  • Wildcat Pantry at Jacobs Science Building
  • Wildcat Pantry at The 90
  • Fresh Food Company
  • Papa John's at The 90

“We really had to think on ways to provide dining services safely and give people more options,” said Scott Henry, UK’s dining partnership executive director. “Even with the pivot to a new normal everyone is doing a great job and staying distant, and our staff is doing what they are supposed to. I am very proud of the UK community.”

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.