Dining Services Launches 'Caltech Eats at Home' Meal Kit Program

As the Caltech community continues to respond and adapt to the coronavirus pandemic, Dining Services has launched a new effort to help keep members of the campus community healthy, safe, and well fed. The Caltech Eats at Home program offers meal kits that can be ordered online and picked up at Chandler Cafe.

Director of Dining Services Jaime Reyes says Caltech Eats at Home will include two different meal options. The first option is a recipe-based meal kit, inspired by services such as Blue Apron, which will allow members of the Caltech community to order a set of ingredients that they can use to prepare a specific meal at home. For example, the first week's menu includes lamb meatballs with tzatziki, pan roasted salmon, and Southern fried chicken.

The second option is a meals-to-go program that provides customers with the option of purchasing premade meals that only need light preparation or to be heated up. The meals-to-go program will reflect the traditional offerings from Chandler and may include such options as a taco bar and tonkatsu ramen as well as some baked goods. "We wanted something for people who like to cook at home, and something for people who don't," Reyes says.

Frances Yokota, Caltech Dining Services' general manager, says the idea emerged from the "Safer at Home" guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. "We wanted to be able to provide something especially for the grad students," Reyes says. Dining Services ultimately decided to expand the program to employees, students, and faculty with valid Caltech email addresses.

Menus and meal options will be posted on the Dining Services website. Orders must be received 48 hours in advance and can be picked up at Chandler Monday through Friday between 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Each Caltech Eats at Home meal will serve two people, but Caltech community members can order as many kits as they need to feed their families.

Those who do not want to order one of the meal packages online can still come to Chandler, where all orders are to-go only. Three food stations remain open, and Chandler is also selling premade sandwiches and premade salads.