When a majority of students return for the fall semester, they will have access to the University's first health conscious Wellness Kitchen.
Ground was broken in early fall of 2013 and the project will be completed in July, according to Glenn Loughridge, director of campus dining.
"It's going be where dining is going and where we want to go," Loughridge said. "It's an all-you-choose-to-eat facility so you can pick and choose how much, and what you want, to eat."
The building is located directly across the street from the South Donahue Residence Hall and was built by Bailey-Harris Construction of Auburn.
According to Loughridge, the concept of the state-of-the-art kitchen has been in the works for the past few years.
"We want to eliminate empty calories," Loughridge said. "We're cutting the Coke machine off at dinner and trying to help give students the maximum nutritional benefit."
The building cost $6.6 million and includes multiple rooms designed to serve students and faculty alike.
"I'm handling the oversight and the construction of the Wellness Kitchen, which involves figuring out the square footage, occupancy, seating floor plan and the overall budget for the project,"said Randy Byars, director of facility planning.
According to Byars, the 10,000-square-foot facility will seat 214 people inside and include a deck that will accommodate approximately 80 more.
The facility has a meeting room that seats 50 people and will be available for reservations from students or faculty.
The University is still working on finalizing price points.
It will offer all-you-choose-to-eat dining, featuring various action stations, a pizza oven, a carving station, a hot line with fresh meats and vegetables, a salad bar and a smoothie station.
"We're planning on having pasta night with homemade pasta prepared right in front of you," Loughridge said. "Our high end pizza oven will provide wheat crust pizza and the menus will be labeled so you know exactly what you're getting."
Scott Sehnert, sports dietician for Auburn Athletics, has been working on the menu that will provide food choices specifically for student athletes, as well as the whole student body.
According to Sehnert, there will also be a "training table" that serves a daily meal the athletic department can provide for student athletes.
"It's open for everyone, not just the student athletes," Loughride said. "We want it to be one of those places students want to go and hang out at. We expect it to be a great place to be on Friday nights before football games."
Along with the action stations and event room, there will be a gluten-free preparation room to accomodate those with allergies. Meal options will change each day to maintain a wide range of food options.
"We're not here to count calories, but to make the calories count," Loughridge said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
