The Dining Hall
Redesigning lunch time
What if the NOISE level in the school dining hall didn't have to be deafening?
What if students could make BETTER FOOD CHOICES because the dining hall environment is calm, pleasant and relaxed?
Design and Development
In preparation for the dining hall redesign, the CYFC-Bruce Vento team established an opportunity assessment team to explore best practices and learn more about what modifications could be made to have a positive impact on the dining hall at the school. The team scoured research and toured the award-winning design spaces of leading edge schools, including the Creative Arts Secondary School in St. Paul for direction and inspiration.
Implementation
University of Minnesota Extension provided a two-year grant to Abi Asojo, Ph.D, professor of interior design at the University of Minnesota College of Design to redesign the Bruce Vento dining hall space. This represented a positive development for the CYFC-Bruce Vento partnership that promised to further its vision to create a nurturing environment that fosters student learning and well-being.
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In addition to creating an environment in the dining hall that supports student learning and health, the University of Minnesota Extension CYFC-Bruce Vento team wanted to create a teaching kitchen space for nutrition educators to use with students and families.
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Recognizing there is no simple solution and no “one size fits all,” the team prioritized six design solutions.
Interior design by: Amanda McNamara and Dr. Abimbola Asojo
Ultimately, the budget restricted the CYFC-Bruce Vento team from executing a comprehensive design for the dining hall space. However, the team was able to implement a design that reduced noise levels and enabled positive interactions.
The Outcome
Small changes really do make a big difference. And nowhere was this clearer than with the dining hall makeover. As noted, budget constraints prevented the team from executing the comprehensive plan for the space. However, the team focused on one major change that drove an immediate impact: a shift from long, rectangular tables to round tables.
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And, in true Bruce Vento collaborative spirit, dining room workers took the initiative to place condiments, napkins, and utensils in the center of each table. Why? Because they knew that noise levels would go down if students didn’t have to get up to retrieve condiments or utensils from the other end of a long table. Together, the change in table shape and putting items in the center of tables to reduce movement diminished the chaos and noise level dramatically.
Dining hall workers immediately noticed a change. Students did, too. And they liked it. A quieter, calmer dining hall has led to lower stress levels which, in turn, enables better food choices and richer interactions with friends.
“When nothing is loud it’s all peaceful.” ~ Bruce Vento Student
Enhancements to the dining hall are still in process. Proposals include repainting the walls in calming colors and creating a mobile kitchen and cooking classroom for parents and students. In true collaborative spirit, Bruce Vento parent volunteers have mobilized early to initiate fundraising efforts to support the proposed developments.
Illumination
The update of the Bruce Vento dining hall was an outgrowth of the positive outcomes of developing a calming room and student garden. In fact, the entire process of creating an overarching nurturing learning environment at the school was highly organic — i.e., as one physical space was optimized for student success, it became apparent that other, existing spaces were lacking. Thus, observing conditions while staying patient with the pace of change are essential elements to success. Following are some other lessons learned from the dining hall project.
Lessons learned
Policy and practices must support strategy and design. For example, no amount of clever seating, better lighting, and noise reduction elements will influence students to eat healthier if they become frazzled by having to spend too much time waiting in line or too little time eating during their lunch break.
1. Design is critical, but not everything
2. Conduct a needs assessment
One school’s chaotic atmosphere is another school’s energetic buzz. Not every school starts with the same physical structure, policies, and culture. Use observational research techniques to evaluate the situation and experiences. Conduct interviews to determine the perspectives and needs of various users. Don't just interview students and teachers. Cast a wide net to engage with all constituents who use the dining space or otherwise interact with dining systems.
3. Assemble a cross-functional implementation team
You will need to seek out different perspectives and engage people with varying talents to design and implement a solution that is best for your school. Include school, district, and community representatives on your redesign team. Working with a bigger team will take more time upfront, but it will save time and minimize problems in the end because you will have listened and incorporated users’ ideas in the process.
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You will also need to know your priorities so you can build your team appropriately. Ensure that strong, decisive team leadership is in place to swiftly move past any impasses that occur. Recruit and empower a strong project manager who's an effective (and frequent) communicator. You may also want to name external experts in design, catering, health, nutrition, and behavior to your team; they will add tremendous value.
4. Listen, learn and adjust
Understand that you cannot anticipate everything in advance. After you roll out your new design, students, teachers, and dining hall staff will inevitably have feedback. At Bruce Vento, the round tables were a win with the students, who said, “we can talk to our friends better.” Dining hall workers said that the new layout makes managing students easier.
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Dining hall workers' idea to place condiments, utensils, and napkins in the center of each round table to cut down movement, and therefore the noise level, was actually an adjustment to the reality that not all long tables could be replaced by round ones. Some long tables had to be left in place, which required another action to offset that necessity.
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Proactively asking for feedback and listening to users helps insure your redesign project will meet their needs.
The Research
Brown, J. (2010, October 10). A school's dining environment: Why is it Important? Retrieved from https://www.ecoliteracy.org/article/school%E2%80%99s-dining-environment-why-it-important
Gage, L. (2015, July 10). Recreating school cafeterias: A menu of creative options. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2kHbcFs
Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland. (n.d.). Improving the dining experience in schools. Retrieved from http://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/Dining%20Experience%2009_10.pdf
Kuong, P. (2013, May 2). Redesigning the school cafeteria. HuffPost. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2zgpvnC
School Food Plan 2014. (2014, April 22). Tips on improving the dining experience. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/2zgkBXy
Wansin, B., Just, D. R., & McKendry, J. (2010, October 21). Lunch line redesign. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://nyti.ms/1NrTs5b
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What if students could better INTERACT with their seatmates and experience the true pleasure of dining with friends?
What if teachers assigned to dining hall duty could look forward to lunch hour with CONFIDENCE and not dread?
After seeing the positive impacts of the calming room and community garden at Bruce Vento Elementary School, the University of Minnesota Extension Children, Youth and Family Consortium (CYFC)-Bruce Vento team was inspired to modify the school’s dining hall to make it a more trauma-sensitive place for healthy eating. The acoustics of the original dining hall created a loud eating environment, and the minimal amount of natural light contributed to a sterile, institutional feel. These characteristics triggered disruptive behavior, especially in students with behavioral challenges.
Wall cubicles with writing-surface tables
Acoustical wall and ceiling tiles
Glass/wood partitions
Rubber flooring tiles
Teaching kitchen (cabinets and surfaces)
Cafeteria station units with low shelf for students to swipe purchase cards