Linfield has done a lot to improve Dillin Hall. It’s newly renovated, the cooks try hard to accommodate different dietary needs, and the sandwich and quesadilla station is great.

But Dillin’s short hours—closing at 8 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 7 p.m. on Friday-Sunday—severely limits students’ ability to eat there on a daily basis.

Linfield’s small size means that students can get highly involved in several groups or clubs. But this huge time commitment, along with classes and social activities, makes it difficult to find the time to eat at Dillin before it closes.

While Starbucks offers one dining alternative, it’s expensive and doesn’t offer enough of a variety to make up full meals every day.
Although it may be hard to find the funds and space to get another food option on campus, other small, private schools seem to find a way.

The University of Puget Sound, with approximately 2,500 students, offers a main dining hall as well as two cafés and a pizza house/convenience store.

Lewis & Clark College has around 2,100 students, and hosts two eateries in its campus center and two cafés.

If other small, private schools can offer their students more dining alternatives, Linfield should too.

The students need another dining option, whether it’s a café, pizza house, or convenience store. But Linfield can also look toward more creative solutions.

Brett Burmeister is the managing editor of FoodCartsPortland.com. He advises street food vendors and knows all about mobile vending laws.

Burmeister has also launched NOLAFoodTrucks.com in the New Orleans food truck scene.

He’s been featured by the New York Times, the Guardian, CNN, and other renowned media sources for his expert food truck reviews and experience. He would be a great source of knowledge in getting food trucks—a cheap and fun dining alternative for college students—on Linfield’s campus.

The kicker? He’s a ’92 Linfield alumni.

According to a 2012 Linfield Magazine profile on Burmeister, he credits Linfield with making him a “more successful individual in all [his] endeavors.” Linfield should try harder to utilize the connections it has with its graduates to make the campus a better place.

Food trucks are just one possible food option, but with Dillin Hall’s dismal hours, Linfield students should have a wider array of dining choices.