With the 2018 flu season being one of the worst in recent years, it can feel difficult to find ways to prevent the spreading of any illness. Finding time to rest and get better while living on a college campus can be even more of a challenge – one reason being that students have to leave their rooms to get food. However, the sick student meal delivery service may be a helpful solution.
At Hofstra, there is a meal delivery service for students with flu-like illnesses. An under-utilized service, students can call or email dining services to get direct to door delivery service of breakfast, lunch or dinner.
“[The program has] been around for at least six years,” said Compass Group’s Marketing & Communications Manager Candace Chau. “It stemmed from students making requests and health services reaching out to dining.”
Students are required to place meal orders three hours in advance of meal delivery time, and breakfast orders should be placed by 9 p.m. the prior evening. In order to get charged for the food, students must provide their student ID number, and of course students must have a meal plan to use this service. Students must also let their resident assistant know that the food is being delivered, because a dining staff member will come into the building and drop the food off at the door.
“I have heard of the ‘deliver to your room’ dining service,” said sophomore video/television major Caroline Lea. “I know people that have tried to use it. One person was able to get the delivery; the other couldn’t figure it out. I think the program needs to be advertised better.”
Another concern about the program is the potential for people to abuse the service.
“We don’t call the health center or anything; we just use the honor system,” Chau said. “I don’t think students would abuse it because the menu is very plain.”
Along with this sick student food delivery service, students are encouraged to utilize the nutritionist and ask for recommendations of the best foods to eat when trying to stay healthy during the cold and flu season.
