At the outset of the second semester, Vassar administrators and the Vassar Student Association (VSA) implemented changes to the college’s dining system, including adjustments to the meal options available at Vassar’s grab-and-go locations, Retreat and Express, the relocation of The Brew to the Bridge Cafe and the introduction of additional meal swipes in response to student feedback.
The Retreat will reopen with previously unavailable hot food options on Feb. 7 after operating with only cold food choices since the start of the fall semester. Although hot food used to be standard at the Retreat, the facility’s cooking equipment could not be used last semester during the replacement of the exhaust system. The reintroduction of hot food also marks the start of Grill options being available at Retreat.
“In addition to the Bowl serving window, we plan on opening a Grill breakfast and Grill lunch window,” said Dennis Macheska, the Associate Dean of Campus Activities. “The Bowl window will continue to serve students’ favorites for lunch until close.”
After renovations have concluded, the Retreat will serve breakfast options, including breakfast sandwiches and wraps, in addition to daily lunch specials such as BBQ Portobello with grilled veggies on a club roll. Sushi options that are available on Wednesdays, as well as the daily side dish choices currently at Retreat, will continue to be offered after the switch to hot food.
“Considering how convenient having hot food at Retreat was last year, it’ll be a nice change because I won’t have to walk all the way to [Gordon Commons] to get warm food,” said Federico La Rosa ’26. “And the cold food in the Retreat right now is pretty unhealthy.”
Following its reopening, the cold food options currently at Retreat will be available at Express. Starting Feb. 7, students will be able to pick up food with a meal swipe, in addition to credit or VCash. Previously, items at Express could only be purchased with VCash or credit. Students will now have two swipes a day to be used at Express, which will be open seven days a week.
“We wanted to maintain a meal swipe in order to provide students flexible options,” said Macheska. “Adding a meal program from Express allowed for us to offer food on weekends as a pilot program for this semester as well as offer an ‘express’ alternative to the Retreat during busy lunch periods.”
At Express, students can use their meal swipe to pick up two entree items, one side and a fountain drink.
The Brew, the student-run coffee shop currently located in The Mug, has relocated to the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences to operate in the former location of the Bridge Cafe, and will continue to accept credit and VCash. Twisted Soul will sell desserts such as cupcakes and cookies, as well as boba tea, in The Mug on Wednesdays and Fridays.
In addition to changes to Vassar’s grab-and-go dining, the VSA recently announced that students will now have access to 4 guest swipes at Gordon Commons per semester. Without a guest swipe, guests will continue to pay $15 to eat at the dining hall.
“By the end of the [fall] semester, the deans ran [the guest swipes program] by the financial team and said that a pilot program was totally feasible with four swipes per student,” said Connor Dalgaard ’26, the VSA’s Chair of Residential Affairs and a senator for the class of 2026. “Based on how well the pilot program goes, if they see a lot of people using it and it’s been well received, then they’ll keep doing it year after year.”
Other members of the VSA see the pilot program as a starting point for other improvements to dining at Vassar.
“Guest swipes can be a form of quality control,” says Mae Long ’24, the VSA’s Chair of Student Financial Affairs and a senator for the class of 2024. “If a parent or family member were to visit and the food wasn’t great, it could lead to some complaints. We’ve all seen how on admitted students or parents weekends the food tends to be a little better, and this has the potential to create a similar standard throughout the entire academic year.”
Students have expressed appreciation for the guest swipe pilot program because it eliminates stress around potential additional expenses.
“I do think it’s helpful because it makes it more convenient for us to host our friends from home without putting an economic imposition on anyone,” says Gabe Moss ’27.
Guest swipes will expire at the conclusion of each semester and can only be used by a guest when they are with a Vassar student.
Due to concerns about the availability of food options for students with dietary restrictions, the VSA and dining administrators have also worked to introduce new choices.
“Recently, a new supplier of gluten free bread was implemented in the Deece and a new focus on ensuring that condiments are stocked in the refrigerator occurred in the fall semester,” says Dalgaard.
At the recommendation of the VSA, the dishwashing station in Gordon Commons has reduced the number of trash and recycling bins to accommodate two new compost stations in an effort to reduce traffic as students dispose of food scraps.
Students are encouraged to fill out feedback sheets or offer comments about their dining experience if there are changes they would like to see.