There’s nothing better than a great meal to get you through the bad times and great company to celebrate the good times. You’ll find both at the Pi Beta Phi house where smiles are contagious and there’s always something cooking. My favorite times of day at the house are the buzzing hours of lunch and dinner when we come together to eat, laugh, and learn about one another.
Finding your community in college is so important, and sharing meals is a great way to do it. I really value mealtimes because they provide a chance to slow down, step away from work or school or stress, and spend time with the people we love. Whether we choose to eat in our dining room, take it to go, or head upstairs to our sundeck, it’s easy to find delicious food and good company at Pi Beta
Phi. A few favorite foods of mine are the Cuban sandwiches, taco bar, and (of course) a dessert of our chef’s famous cookies and a pint from our ice cream fridge.
We do mealtime a few different ways at Pi Beta Phi, accommodating for varying schedules and safety measures. During the 2020-2021 school year, we served all our meals to-go with the option of eating outside on the front lawn or the sundeck to maximize our ability to social distance. In a normal year, however, we enjoy a mix of traditional family-style and buffet-style meals.
A few nights per week we have family-style meals where we all sit and eat at the same time. This is a great way for people from different member classes to meet each other and for our members to spend time with our house mom. These dinners remind us that we’re more than just friends – we’re family.
Other nights and during lunch time, we have buffet-style meals for added flexibility and efficiency. And at every meal, we have a salad bar with tons of toppings and dressings. Lunch is my favorite meal at the house because it’s easy to linger for hours, talking with friends, listening to stories, and meeting new people.
I can’t even begin to tell you how important meals at the house are to me. I lived in house during the 2020-2021 school year, and mealtimes quickly became the most eventful and meaningful part of my day as it offered a much-needed break from the seemingly endless Zooms. Conversations have given me the confidence to pursue job opportunities, the insight to realize that I really wanted to change my major, and the support to know that I’m enough, even on my worst days. When I’m feeling down, or confused, or lonely, I know the perfect remedy is a meal at our big yellow home.