Making the most of your meal swipes, because that tuition has to be put to use. Grace Dodge is the only place to do it!

I love to steal from the dining hall. 

Ok so I’m not like, sneaking in and taking food per say. As a non-freshman, I have to ration my meal swipes, and therefore I am making the most out of every time I tap my ID. 

Over the course of my two years pilfering from each dining hall, I have come to an understanding of which are the best to take food from, and what you can use it for. By this I mean, which dining halls allow you to make one swipe into two, or even three? My criteria is simple: where can I get the most packaged items, in the most to-go friendly environment. It always comes back to one place: Grace Dodge. 

Grace Dodge is the best dining hall on campus by a mile, almost exclusively because I always leave there with more food than I consume. Grace Dodge allows you to take basically everything. When getting the salad, ask for the chicken and vegetables from the hot bar on the side, and they will give it to you in an extra cup. Additionally, you can ask for a fruit cup while dressing your salad. This will make one salad last at least two meals. 

Onto the snacks – you can take as many snacks as you want and no one will bat an eye. I have taken up to 6 Goldfish packets with no questions asked! It’s a great way to save on having to buy snacks otherwise. 

Finally turning to the drinks. I have not once bought tea my whole time at school – I simply take (many) bags from Grace Dodge. Additionally, they often have tiny cups for extra dressing, which you can ask for when getting a salad, and fill it with syrup. This might be too OD, but if you like to make your own coffee at home, it can save you a trip to Pret, or Starbucks, or another dining hall. 

Even with the introduction of the coin system, Grace Dodge allows you to go back as much as you want for everything but the main course. There’s never a shortage of food there, and I owe it everything. 

Image via Columbia Dining Instagram