The University of Miami has outlined its plans for on-campus dining this fall, including a new mobile reservation system via CBORD’s GET app, and density monitors located outside dining facilities to display current occupancy numbers.
According to an official university release, Miami’s dining halls reopened food service to students, faculty, and staff on August 9, incorporating new foot traffic signage, floor decals, and plexiglass barriers to encourage physical distancing. The dining halls on the Coral Gables, Fla. campus will operate at 50% capacity through the end of the fall semester on November 23.
Students will tap in with their ’Cane Card at contactless card readers, and will also have the option to make reservations at the dining halls either online or via the GET Food App. Reservations for dine-in seating are set in 30-minute increments.
Miami’s dining services department has also installed density monitors outside both of its dining halls. The television screens display the current capacity of the dining hall and enable students to decide if they feel comfortable entering the location. Dining density will also be tracked in real time via a “Location Density” tab in the UMiami App.
The university is also offering expanded take-out options from its dining halls, as well as implementing a new meal-swipe enabled to-go box option. Other on-campus dining changes include:
- Disposables to be used in place of china and silverware.
- No self-service stations or salad buffets.
- Reduced indoor seating capacity.
- Expanded outdoor seating with tents available for inclement weather.
- A “Symptom Checker” will be launched in residential dining. Guests will be asked to flash their “Good to Go” QR code upon entry.
The university’s on-campus retail dining locations have also reopened, but will follow current Miami-Dade County guidelines that do not allow for dine-in seating. Mobile ordering via Grubhub is available for the campus community for both pickup and delivery from all retail dining locations.
