By Margarita Moesch ‘19
Staff Writer

Older students may remember the Grab n Go program that was available for a few months last spring: On weekdays from 12-1 p.m., 5C students (as well as staff and faculty) could use meal swipes, Flex, Claremont or regular cash to purchase a prepackaged meal. These consisted of a salad or sandwich, chips, whole fruit and cookies, and were a way to avoid the long lines at Malott.

According to Sophomore Laurel Dickstein, the Grab n Go meals were “more portable than the to-go boxes.” and “easier to take...in a backpack, on a bike or to a lunchtime meeting”.
Ranging from “decent [to] good,” this dining option “took all the stress out of those 1-hour lunch breaks that should be plenty of time but simply are not because of Scripps’ lines and crowds,” Dickstein said. Although many of us can identify with this struggle, especially with the coordinated lunchtimes during Core I, “participation proved to be very low.” according to Tom Adkins (general manager of Malott).

Grab n Go was launched by Treasurer Donna Ng as a pilot for a possible program to accompany the opening of NEW Hall, and was discontinued because of the disproportionate cost of labor to participation. Malott wasn’t able to accommodate the program because of “limited warming capabilities, the lack of dedicated refrigerated cases and proper operation and food display.” according to Adkins, and this resulted in a minimal selection that discouraged many from taking advantage of the portable meals.