Following student feedback and a targeted review, Grinnell College Dining Services has made several new changes to its hours of service this semester — a move that Scott Turley, director of dining services, said intends to make meals more accessible at later hours and accommodate students with varying schedules.
The changes include extending Marketplace Dining Hall hours to 10 p.m. from Sundays to Thursdays and 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. In previous years, the Dining Hall would close at 8 p.m. from Sundays to Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
The meal replacement program at the Spencer Grill, which allowed students to exchange one meal swipe for a small selection of to-go meals, has also ended.
Turley wrote in an email to The S&B that Dining Services saw a need to provide meals later in the evening, particularly for students whose schedules conflict with traditional dinner hours. Over the past year, an external dining consultant conducted a review of the College’s dining program that included student focus groups, conversations with campus departments and observations of Dining Services operations. One recommendation from the review was to extend Marketplace hours and reduce reliance on meal replacements at Spencer Grill and Global Cafe.
“By extending Dining Hall hours until 10 p.m., we can offer students a broader variety of freshly prepared food in a setting designed to serve larger numbers of people more efficiently,” Turley wrote.
Turley wrote that student feedback played an important role in the decision. Student-athletes were a significant consideration in the decision, as their practices and competitions can overlap with dinner times. For these students, the extra two hours can mean the difference between accessing the Marketplace after practice and missing dinner.
“We definitely do benefit,” said Owen Block `27, a member of the cross country and track and field team, adding that athletes sometimes struggled to reach the Dining Hall before closing under the previous schedule. “Fridays, especially when it was like 7 p.m., there were weeks where we just couldn’t make dinner.”
Block referred to one recent evening when he practiced from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and then attended a meeting until 8:30 p.m. By the time he arrived at the Dining Hall, it was around 8:45 p.m., a time in which the Dining Hall would have already been closed in previous semesters.
Cross country practices can involve eight to 10 miles of running, Block said, which can take between an hour and a half and two hours, not including other training routines. On days with longer runs or additional lifts, he said, athletes may not finish until around 7:45 p.m.
Turley wrote that feedback from the College’s Dining Services Advisory Committee suggests the extended hours have reduced the pressure some students feel to reach the Dining Hall before its 8 p.m. closing time.
The extended hours have also replaced a system that previously challenged Dining Services.
In past semesters, students who could not make regular dinner hours could use a meal replacement at the Spencer Grill. However, according to Turley, high demand for those meals sometimes forced employees to pause or reduce regular counter service to prepare to-go orders.
Removing meal replacements is also part of Dining Services’ sustainability efforts. Turley wrote that meal replacements relied heavily on disposable packaging and generated significant waste. This year, the College’s new reusable container program for to-go meals, ReusePass, will replace paper cups with reusable cups and aims to expand the number of locations where students can return reusable containers.
In addition to extending Dining Hall hours and ending meal replacements, Turley said Dining Services will introduce a waffle bar during late dinner service and discontinue deli sandwich preparation during that period. Dining Services has also adjusted cereal and juice offerings based on recommendations from the 2025-26 Dining Services Advisory Committee.
Lastly, there are plans to install a handwashing sink in the Dining Hall during the upcoming fall break. Construction delays prevented the sink’s installation before the fall 2026 semester began.
Dining Services is encouraging students to swipe their Pioneer One-Card every time they use the Marketplace Dining Hall. Turley wrote that accurate meal counts allow Dining Services to track participation, adding that Dining Services will refer to student usage and feedback in evaluating its menus, operations and sustainability initiatives as the semester progresses.