Elder dining hall will not reopen this academic year as originally scheduled due to a redesign of the renovation plans, according to a Monday email from student affairs administrators.

The change was made “in response to student feedback,” and the new design will focus on “inclusive dining” — including kosher, halal and vegetarian food and options for those with food allergies, according to the email, authored by Stacey Brown, the director of dining; Jim Roberts, the senior executive director for division services and Jennifer Luttig-Komrosky, the executive director of residential services.

Elder’s dining hall is now scheduled to reopen in Summer 2019. In the meantime, Northwestern Dining will find ways to provide breakfast options to Elder residents to compensate for the change in timeline, administrators wrote.

Administrators also announced plans to implement a reusable container program. Students can pay a $5 deposit to carry their food out of the dining hall in a reusable container, which can be switched out later for clean ones or a refund.

In addition, Open Access and Base 14 meal plans will restore two meal exchanges per week that can be used at retail locations like Fran’s Café beginning in Winter Quarter.

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