Harvard University Dining Services To Expand Meal Options, Change Hours for Fall 2021

Harvard University Dining Services will expand full-service breakfast to both Annenberg and Quincy and add brunch service on Saturdays in all houses beginning Aug. 20, HUDS Managing Director Smitha S. H. Haneef wrote in an email to the College Wednesday.

Dining hours across campus will also undergo a few changes, Haneef wrote. Breakfast services across the College will now last 30 minutes longer until 10:30 a.m., and dinner will end 15 minutes later, now running from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Lunch and brunch will end 15 minutes earlier, at 2 p.m.

Annenberg and Quincy will be open to all undergraduate students for full-service breakfast Monday through Friday. All houses will continue to serve continental breakfast on the weekends, followed by brunch on both Saturday and Sunday, which had been only served on Sundays. Annenberg will also serve full-service breakfast on Saturday.

The announcement also details additional services, such as new dining spaces for freshmen at the Cambridge Queen’s Head on Memorial Hall’s lower level. Flyby, the HUDS grab-and-go lunch service, will now be available at the new Science and Engineering Complex in addition to existing Flyby options at Memorial Hall.

According to HUDS spokesperson Crista Martin, returning HUDS employees will not experience changes to work schedules or pay, though some dining staff members may adjust their schedules, if they are able. Some employees may need to change locations, which allows others to shift into the open roles if they so choose.

Changes to HUDS offerings and services reflect an assessment of student feedback and mark the beginning of a larger transformation for HUDS as many undergraduates return to campus after studying remotely, wrote Haneef, who joined HUDS this year.

“We look to the next year as the first of a three-year evolution and process of piloting adjustments, gathering feedback, and shaping a healthy, sustainable & inclusive residential dining program,” she wrote.

Beginning in the fall, students will also have access to the HUDS registered dietician at Annenberg Hall and office hours at every resident house.

HUDS will also work to include more kosher, halal, vegan, and vegetarian options. Halal lunch and dinner options will be served in dining halls and kosher lunch options will be served in dining halls, while kosher dinner service will continue at Harvard Hillel.

According to Haneef, research and preparation for the menu has been ongoing.

“HUDS has worked closely with members of the College to shape this set of pilot changes to the dining program so that it will continue to foster House life, fuel student work, and represent and meet the needs of our diverse community,” Haneef wrote.

—Staff writer Meimei Xu can be reached at meimei.xu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @meimeixu7.