A Stroll Through the Kitchen
The 6,882 Arrowmen guests staff attending the National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) get pretty hungry after training and activity sessions all day. That is where the Indiana University Dining Services group steps up to the plate.
Sandra Fowler, the director of dining services on campus, leads a large group of cooks, cleaners, servers and other staff to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner for all the NOAC guests and staff in six campus dining halls.
The planning for feeding everyone starts long before the conference starts. The dining services group submitted a suggested menu to the NOAC planning committee and made adjustments as necessary. After the menu was approved, food purchasers placed orders for all the ingredients needed for the conference.
The dining halls prepared 6,140 servings of macaroni and cheese for Sunday's dinner and serve about 4,500 bowls of cereal and 1,500 pounds of eggs for breakfast every day. If laid end-to-end, those eggs would reach from Assembly Hall (where the shows are) to the McNutt dining hall.
Preparing all of this food takes time, too. Early cooks arrive at 4:00 a.m. at most dining halls to begin preparing breakfast.
The reaction from Arrowmen at the Read dining hall was fairly positive. Will F. from Kayanernh-Kowa Lodge of the Hiawatha Seaway Council gave it two thumbs up; his favorite meal so far was the macaroni and cheese. Joel B. from Nacha-Mawat Lodge of the Southwest Michigan Council thought it was "delicious," and "filling." His favorite meal was the barbecue chicken served for lunch on Tuesday. His only complaint: "We're missing soft-serve ice cream."
Kelly L. from Indian Drum Lodge in the Scenic Trails Council commented, "I think it's really good. But they just stick everything in one little plate. The chicken tasted a little sour because of the ravioli." Cory W. from Tatokainyanka Lodge with the Central Wyoming Council remarked, "I wish there were more vegetarian options. Other than that, it's amazing."
Because of the large number of people at NOAC, the university had to use disposable plates, cups and silverware, increasing the amount of trash generated. The daily trash pickup doubles from the normal summer volume while NOAC is on campus. Leftover food that cannot be served again at a future meal is donated to the local Bloomington food bank.
Almost all of the food comes from commercial food wholesalers instead of local farmers because local farmers do not carry the liability insurance policies the university requires. The cost of all the raw ingredients is about $8.00 per person per day.
Revised 08/04/2009