TCU Dining Helps Fellow College Students Displaced by Hurricane Ida
First came COVID-19. Then came the 2021 winter storm. Then global supply chain disruptions. Now, after feeding people through unprecedented circumstances, TCU Dining is assisting in feeding about 175 students and staff that were displaced by Hurricane Ida.
The evacuees from Xavier University of Louisiana turned to TCU for help since they both utilize Sodexo for food service. Currently, Xavier representatives are coming to TCU each morning to pick up meals to take back to their students, staying in a Dallas hotel.
“Our staff loves the opportunity to help, regardless of who it is,” said Jude Kiah, assistant vice chancellor of Student Affairs. “I think our staff finds that tremendously rewarding. The response from XULA has been wonderful, and we’ve bonded. I do think we will have an ongoing relationship with them.”
A student team has also been taking part in preparing the meals. The students participate
in a food labs class with the nutrition department where they work in units for hands-on
experience. The team effort has truly been a mission of service, much like other recent
events.
“I’m proud of our dining team,” said Kiah. “They show up every day and have even since the beginning of COVID. They come to their work with a servant heart, and that shows every day.”
He said the work is challenging, and recent events have made that clear.
“Frankly, what our dining folks have done under the stress of labor shortages, supply chain delays, the return of full crowds to football, the extra work created to make a safe environment from COVID is nothing short of a miracle,” said Kiah.