Food Operations this Year

  • Our food operation is outstanding.  Our three person staff does a phenomenal job of preparing and serving meals that are wholesome, delicious, and creative.  This year will be a challenge because our methods of serving meals will be quite different than before.  We are no longer able to offer buffet-style service or salad bars.  We are being directed to use disposable plates, utensils, and cups.  We will utilize a variety of methods of serving meals including grab’n go meals and Individually-plated meals.
  • We will offer four venues for eating meals:  our dining room (reduced seating occupancy), a space in our basement (reduced seating occupancy), outdoor seating (front porch tent with reduced seating occupancy), and grab’n go meals that can be taken and eaten elsewhere.  During the summer months our kitchen staff have been poring over last year’s daily menu and devising ways of serving great meals using the new health-regulated dining standards.  Every effort is being made to continue our tradition of great meals, in spite of the present limiting and challenging circumstances.
  • As we begin the school year, we will seek input from the members of our chapter about possible serving scenarios.  Should our members eat at assigned times?  Should they platoon, one floor at a time?  We want to provide a very positive dining environment, so decisions on these kind of questions need to wait until our own students can tell us what they think will work best.
  • We will utilize disposable plates, cups and flatware this year.  All non grab’n go meals will be plated and served individually.
  • Our staff was the first among the IU Greek community houses to offer “care packages” to students who needed to stay in their rooms because of illness.  That past practice has us in a very good position to respond to the present day needs of any students who might need to quarantine or be isolated.
  • Every member of our kitchen staff is Serv-Safe certified.  Their certifications are kept up to date with continuing education classes.

Cleaning Strategies

  • Individuals Rooms
    • Individuals are responsible for taking trash from their own room outside to the dumpster in the parking lot.  Individual members are also encouraged to pick up and properly dispose of trash that other brothers may have inadvertently overlooked throughout common areas.
    • Every member is being issued a refillable bottle of hand sanitizer for his personal use.  Refills can be made from the large hand sanitizer dispenser located in the basement supply room.
    • Every member’s room is being issued a refillable bottle of spray disinfectant we hope they will use often and liberally on surfaces throughout their own rooms.  Refills can be made from the large disinfectant dispenser located in the basement supply room.
  • Common Areas
    • We hire a cleaning service to clean and disinfect our bathrooms and common areas.  We have increased the frequency of their service this year.  They will now work daily (including weekends).  We have also increased their duties while here each day, adding additional disinfecting duties in bathrooms, common areas, and the sanitizing of handrails and doorknobs throughout the building.
  • UV-C Light
    • We have arranged for the use of commercial grade UV-C light cleaning treatments throughout the building this year.  UV-C light has been proven to destroy all known germs, viruses, and bacteria.  Our kitchens, dining areas, bathrooms, and common areas will be treated monthly with UV-C light.  We will also offer our members the opportunity to have their individual rooms treated, as well. UV-C example 1 | UV-C example 2
    • Want to know more about UV-C light and see more examples? Link

Contact Tracing

  • Indiana University has hired a staff to conduct contract tracing interviews of all Covid-positive students in an effort to identify others who have been in “close contact” with them.