Cafeterias reopen at KPU Surrey and Richmond campuses

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Cafeterias at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Surrey and Richmond campuses reopened on Sept. 3 after being shut down for more than a year due to low profits. 

Students visiting the Surrey campus cafeteria, located on the second floor of the Birch building, can purchase a variety of breakfast and lunch items, including wraps, flatbreads, and a build-your-own sandwich bar. The cafeteria, renamed Hungry Mind Cafe, is also home to the Mumbai Cafe, which serves Indian cuisine including samosas, pakoras, aloo mutter, butter chicken, and masala chai. 

At the Richmond campus, students can visit Kaigan Sushi, which is located next to the Tim Hortons. There, students can choose from freshly made sushi rolls, prepped by an on-site chef, and custom-made poke bowls. A variety of ready-to-eat salads, sandwiches, and hot soups are also available. Menu items at both cafeterias cost no more than $10. 

“What we’re trying to reflect here is the varying needs based on the demographics at each of the campuses,” says Dan Jackson, director of ancillary services at KPU. 

“Our hope is to provide a healthy, accessible offering to our campus population, and we’re starting off [by] trying to make the most of that and make sure that we have a good, viable offering …. At this point in time, [we’re] very optimistic that the food offering is going to entice people to enjoy a meal on campus.” 

The revamped cafeterias come under the wing of Dana Hospitality, KPU’s new food service provider. This summer, they reopened the cafeteria at KPU’s Langley campus and rebranded the Tech campus cafeteria, bringing in fresh, locally sourced menu items. 

KPU general studies student Divjot Sekhon visited the Surrey campus cafeteria and tried its samosas, masala chai, and a rice dish. He says he really enjoyed the food and is happy to see the cafeteria open again. 

“It’s very good so we do not have to go outside of KPU to find these types of food. It was really difficult, going from here to Newton Exchange [bus station] or somewhere else to find something like this to eat,” he says. 

“The cafeteria is a really good place to meet with friends. So it will help create a positive environment.” 

Jackson says that Dana Hospitality staff are open to feedback, which students can provide via face-to-face interactions at the cafeterias, but also through a feedback form which can be found by visiting kpu.icaneat.ca. This feedback collection will provide students an opportunity to voice any changes they’d like to see with the food offerings. 

Also with the launch of the new cafeterias is a recyclable container pilot program at the Surrey campus called Friendlier, in which people can request their cafeteria food be served in a Friendlier recycled container. Containers have a $0.50 to $1 deposit, and users are able to keep the containers for as long as they’d like. 

Once done with the container, users can dispose of it into a Friendlier collection bin, which is located at the Surrey campus cafeteria. To get the paid deposit back, users need to download the Friendlier app to scan the QR code located on the container, which lets the company reimburse users’ accounts. 

“It gets recycled, sanitized, and you get a new container. They’re not disposable … they’re actually being recycled,” Jackson says. “We’re hoping people see the environmental perspective of that, and [that] it’s convenient enough.” 

Other food engagement initiatives at KPU this semester include a food fair, which Jackson says will take place at the Surrey, Langley, Richmond, and Tech campuses. While details have yet to be confirmed, he expects the fair to feature a variety of foods from different cuisines for students to try out. 

For more information about cafeteria food offerings at KPU, visit kpu.icaneat.ca.