Two new dining areas have been established on campus to meet the needs of Simpson students.

According to Vince LoVan, Sodexho General Manager, the Storm Express and Pfieffer Express were added on to Simpson’s already existing dining facilities to accommodate the over-flow of students at busy times in the dining areas.

“This is something that we came up with and we want feedback from the students,” said LoVan.

The Pfieffer Express is a “grab-and-go” line that consists of a choice of deli sandwiches and other snack items including dessert and a drink.

Storm Express located just outside The Grill has hot food and a salad bar. The hot food bar contains two items that are being served in Pfieffer that day.

“I think that it’s good to have a change sometimes,” said Brian Bickford, a cook for Sodexho. “The new express lines make it less hectic for us during peak times of the day, and it’s not really all that much extra work especially if it’s well-received by the students.”

By planning ahead with a group of Simpson staff LoVan came up with the idea of the express lines last Spring.

Some changes were made to The Grill area in order to accommodate the Storm Express. Two new full-time staff members were added to the food service department to keep up with the heavier traffic that the dining areas are seeing this year.

The access system has also changed.

Instead of swiping the student ID’s, the system now scans the bar code. This system, that works the same way as the old system did, was highly recommended by Sodexho, said LoVan.

“I haven’t used either of the “Express” lines yet, but from what I hear Pfieffer Express seems to be pretty successful with sack lunches,” said Andrew Mitchell, sophomore class president.

LoVan said that last week there was an average of 80 to 100 students utilizing the Phieffer Express during lunch.

Many are pressed for time and need fast meal options, so the new, convenient express lines are greatly appreciated by Simpson students.

“On the days when I have practice I can get my sack lunch at Pfieffer and eat it for supper,” said Tonya Thomas, a first-year student.