Dining Services Slots Midnight Snack for Fall

Come next fall, the "Brain Break"--a Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) invention that will bring late-night snacks to House dining halls--will be a nightly addition to the meal plan.

Director of HUDS Ted A. Mayer, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 and the Council of Masters announced this week they would extend the University's foodservice in all undergraduate dining halls, with a comparable offering for first-year students.

So far, HUDS has determined that the meal will be offered to all students on the regular board plan. Other details--including how much the board charges will increase--are still fuzzy, according to Alixandra E. McNitt, HUDS associate director for communications and marketing.

"Our vision is to make some beverages available on some rotation and snacks of some kind," she said. "Then there will be a hot appetizer sort of thing, like a nacho bar, or maybe something of a crudite."

Other possible midnight bites will include bagels, baked goods and cereal.

In addition to the "Brain Break" next year, HUDS will add breakfast and lunch service for seniors between the end of spring term exams and Commencement.

HUDS learned of students' desire for a late-night dining option after a HUDS survey last year, according to McNitt.

"Everybody definitely recognizes that students stay up late," McNitt said. "And there are the basic safety concerns with travelling at 2 a.m. to Tommy's [pizza parlor]."

Late last night in the Winthrop House dining hall, students studying chemistry said they could use a "Brain Break."

"Three to 5 a.m. is a really hungry period, and you have to raid roommates' food stores because there's nowhere else to go," said Anang A. Shelat '00, who added that a late-night option would have been nice this year.

Denise E. Chou '02, who says she is a frequent customer to the Dunster House Grill, agreed.

"If you're writing a paper or studying for a midterm, you don't want to go outside," she said.

HUDS first announced it was considering a fourth meal in early November, when Mayer said the discussion needed to continue.

"We're very seriously looking into it, but we haven't committed to it," Mayer said at the time.

While waiting for the Brain Breaks to start, students can stop by one of the seven Houses that currently offers some sort of late-night option.

Quad dining halls, which made a particular push this year to leave out snacks at night, have already dealt with calculating the amount of food students consume each night.

HUDS hopes to learn the ropes from the Masters who have dealt with the snacks on their own and with their own budget, McNitt said.

"They experienced challenges like how much beverage to put out. We try to get it just right," McNitt said. "We hope to find a rhythm to it. There are peaks and valleys. So it takes a while to find a balance."

Under the new plan, dining staff will arrange the snacks for students before they leave for the night, which is usually at about 8 p.m. Before breakfast the next morning, staff members will tidy up, although students will be encouraged to pitch in.

"Students are going to be asked to clean up for themselves," McNitt said.

As for how much this will raise the board plan fee, McNitt said she was unsure.

"It will be more costly. That's our biggest challenge now," McNitt said.

Winthrop House Master Paul D. Hanson said the Masters are still working out how to balance the costs of the proposal and how much the Houses will contribute, if at all.

Hanson said the issue had been discussed at the last two House Masters meetings, and the Masters were highly in favor of the concept.

At those meetings, though, the Masters did not know the name of the plan.

"It sounds like a broken brain to me," Hanson joked.

The Brain Break concept is unique to Harvard, McNitt said. Some schools extend the hours of their cash operation businesses--like at Stanford's Lucie Stern Dining Hall, where students can munch on the Late Nite Snack Service from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. using their Cardinal Dollars--but rarely is a late-night meal part of the board plan.

Lewis wrote in an e-mail message that he congratulates Mayer for his innovative work on the Brain Break.

"All the credit should go to the creativity of Ted and his colleagues in Dining Services in developing this idea so that it can happen," Lewis wrote. "The other innovations, including Commencement week meals, are also very important. Mr. Mayer really deserves a tremendous round of thanks from everyone."

The only note of concern came from Chou. As she examined a table tent with the results of HUDS' recent food waste audit--which showed that undergraduates were throwing out high amounts of food--Chou pointed to a possible repercussion.

"I also think it could aggravate the food waste problem," she said.

--Geoffrey A. Fowler contributed to the reporting of this article.