MAC Blog

Lorie's Place!

2009-04-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

A new vendor in town is accepting your Mustang Money! Lorie's Place is a full service salon and clothing store, located at 8 Eaton Street. Their phone number is 684-7184.

Give Lorrie a call the next time you need a haircut, or stop in to check out her supply of clothing, and when you pay, swipe your ID card to pay with your Mustang Money!

Field Fresh Days at Seneca, Part Two

2008-11-11T07:57:00.000-08:00

Pride of New York is an organization that promotes and supports the sale of products grown and/or produced in New York State. On November 5th Seneca Dining Center celebrated these great New York State products by using them to make delicious dishes.

Pride of New York in Seneca Dining Center

Field Fresh Days at Seneca, Part One

2008-11-11T07:46:00.000-08:00

In October and November Seneca Dining Center hosted Field Fresh Days - three weeks of celebrating local food.

Common Thread Community Farm

First up was a visit to Common Thread Community Farm, which provides Seneca with a large percentage of the vegetables it uses.

Veggies Delivered

Amy and Chris, the owners of Common Thread Community Farm, deliver some great fall veggies to Seneca.

Great Veggie Dishes at Seneca

The next step was making some delicious meals out of the vegetables provided to Seneca by Common Thread.

Happy Earth Day!

2008-04-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day!

In celebration of Earth Day, today MAC kicked off our composting project at Mustang Alley! All compostable waste will be going in separate bins, and then to a compost heap. Before long, today's lunch waste will become compost! And a lot of waste has been diverted from the landfill, which is the best Earth Day present anyone could ask for.

Mandy Meil enters the raffle to win a Green Zone t-shirt or tote bag.

Emmanuel Houston and Jelani McFarlane pose by the display board that shows diners what can and can't be composted.

Ryne Francis is having a good time in the compost area! :)

MAC employee Mike Baker dumps compost into a separate outside container. These containers will be taken to the composting site.

Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired representatives Katie and Dawn, with Dawn's guide dog Umbra, were on hand to educate students on what their organization has to offer. Visit their website for more information.

Christopher Brea, Cale Baies and Lenny Bressler get information from the CABVI desk in Mustang Alley.

Thank you to all the students and employees who stopped for information on our composting project and on CABVI. Your interest and participation are what makes it possible for us to make these positive environmental steps. We will be composting trash at Mustang Alley for the remainder of the semester, so be sure to check out the display board of what can and can't be composted - you'll be surprised how much can! And to all who entered the raffle to win a free t-shirt or tote bag, good luck! We'll be contacting all winners tomorrow.

1-800-Genocide

2008-04-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

Interested in learning more about Darfur, and what you can do to help? Check out the following.

http://www.askthecandidates.org/
Learn what the candidates have to say about Darfur, and get information on their campaign, "Vote for Darfur."

http://www.askthecandidates.org/contact-candidates
Get in touch with the candidates about this issue.

1-800-Genocide
Call this hot line and get a short message. The calls are forwarded to the White House. Calls are tallied on a daily basis. Let your voice be heard!

Composting at Mustang Alley!

2008-04-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Win an iTunes Gift Card from The Pit Stop!

2008-03-31T05:31:00.001-07:00

Raffle Winners!

2008-03-25T10:14:00.000-07:00

We gave away two iPods yesterday! The Pit Stop had a raffle. Anyone who purchased a panini yesterday could enter, and there were two iPod Nanos to give away. The drawing was held yesterday afternoon, and here's who won:

Phyllis Tucker and James Bartholomew.

Congratulations to our winners! Remember to watch your e-mails and this blog for announcements of future raffles and important news items.

And welcome back from spring break! I hope you had fun while you were gone!

Spring Break Dining Hours

2008-03-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

The Pit Stop Coffee Club!

2008-03-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

Zune Winner

2008-02-29T13:00:00.001-08:00

Our Trayless Tuesday was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who participated. And we have a winner to our raffle! The Zune was presented today to Chris Jaquin.

Congratulations Chris! Enjoy your Zune!

V Rocker Winner!

2008-02-28T10:59:00.002-08:00

The drawing was held for the V Rocker that was being raffled off at The Pit Stop. And the winner is...

Casey Doty! Congratulations, Casey! Enjoy your chair!

We also had a bunch of hats and shirts to give away! Here are the names that were drawn to win those:

Krystal Callaro, Jim Trask, Norman Coolidge, Krystan Massaro, Jordan Claus, Fred Turner, Adrian Marin, Tim Walrath, Eric Elliott, Dan Jenney, Eric Bauer, Shun Furutani, Hans Keller, Dawn McGarrigle, Brandon Szlamczynski, Sean Williams, Dan Ricotta, Mark Demaio and Adebowale Olasokan.

Congratulations to all of our winners!

Smooth Jazzy Joz Open Weekend Afternoons!

2008-02-28T10:59:00.001-08:00

Mid-Winter Sale at the Campus Store!

2008-02-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

NorthShore Jewelry Sale at the Campus Store!

2008-02-26T06:57:00.000-08:00

Chicken Marasala by Billy Poling!

2008-02-22T07:15:00.000-08:00

Billy Poling, MSC football quarterback, and his friend Edward Hull were hard at work this morning in Mustang Alley, preparing Billy's famous Chicken Marsala for today's lunch! Check out the pictures of the guys hard at work below!

The guys cutting chicken breasts.

Taking a break to smile for the camera.

Thanks for all the hard work, guys! I'm sure the chicken will come out great!

Trayless Tuesday On the Web

2008-02-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

Did you miss the story about trayless Tuesday on the news last night? Well, you're in luck! You can watch it online here.

Week Two Food Waste Results!

2008-02-19T10:04:00.001-08:00

In the News!

2008-02-19T09:45:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that we're going to be on the news! Channel 9 came out to Seneca Dining Hall today and got some footage of the Trayless Tuesday initiative that we have going on this month. A couple of our MAC employees went on camera to talk about what we're doing and why - trying to reduce food waste, eliminating the use of styrofoam and going with more Earth friendly to go containers - and they also talked to some students! Make sure to tune in to channel 9 tonight between 5 and 6 to see the report!

Trayless Tuesday Food Waste Results for Week One!

2008-02-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

Trayless Tuesday Pics!

2008-02-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day of Trayless Tuesdays at Seneca Dining Hall! Haven't heard of Trayless Tuesday? Well, during the month of February, we're giving students the option of not using a tray during lunch at Seneca. Anyone who decides to go trayless on these days has the chance to enter a raffle to win an 80GB Zune! That's a $250 value, so it's very exciting. Good luck to everyone who entered the raffle! And thanks for agreeing to go without a tray for these few lunch periods this month.

Why are we doing this trayless thing? Well, we're trying to help save water and detergent, by having fewer trays to wash. And we're hoping to have less food waste. Seneca is still an all you can eat facility, of course - students who go trayless don't lose that benefit of eating there. They can carry as many plates to their table as they can handle, and then go back up for more. But having a tray makes it easier to take more food than you might be able to eat. So we're just hoping to cut down food waste on these days. Just think of how many Zunes we could have purchased to raffle off with the money we'd save if less food got thrown away!

I went over to Seneca a couple of times during lunch today, and got some great pictures of people signing up! Check them out below.

Alicia Keith shows some flair after filling out her raffle ticket.

Dan R. strikes a pose. (Sorry, Dan - I couldn't read your last name.)

Jacob Spazini fills out his raffle ticket.

James Horne poses for the camera after entering the raffle.

Jocelyn Omgri and Mabel Bedoe are happy to go trayless!

Michael Kowalski, Dan Danks and Cam Bray fill out their entry forms.

Tonnorris Kinsey fills out his entry slip.

I apologize if I read anyone's name wrong - feel free to comment and correct me if I did, and I'll fix the entry.

Thanks, everyone! And remember - think green! Recycle when you can, don't take a plastic bag if you don't need one, and conserve energy! It's just the right thing to do.

The Copper Turret and Meal Plans

2008-01-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

Hi there! Did you know that the Copper Turret takes your meal plans and Mustang Money? Well, they do! And the food is fantastic, too. So next time you're in the mood to get off-campus for lunch or dinner, try out the Copper Turret. You can check out a sample menu on their web page at www.copperturret.com.

Stop in for a great meal soon!

For more details on how your meal plans and Mustang Money work at the Copper Turret, give them a call at 684-6699. Thanks, and enjoy your meal at the Copper Turret!

Win a Zune!

2008-01-23T06:27:00.000-08:00

You Could Win an 80GB Zune!

Sign up at Seneca Dining Hall to go trayless during the month of February, and you could win an 80GB Zune! Choosing to go trayless saves water and energy, and we hope it will also help to cut down on food waste, so it is a positive step for the environment! And as if this weren't reason enough to go trayless on Tuesdays during lunch in February, we'll also be holding a raffle, with a prize of an 80GB Zune!

Sign up at lunch on February 5, 2008 at Seneca Dining Hall to go trayless on Tuesdays during lunch, and you will automatically be entered in the drawing for an 80GB Zune, courtesy of MAC and the Campus Store!

Remember to sign up on Tuesday, February 5th at Seneca Dining Hall, and good luck in the raffle!

Styrofoam

2008-01-16T11:24:00.001-08:00

Kirsten

2007-12-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

Today I went back to the Campus Store, where student worker Kirsten was nice enough to model another shirt for us! She can be seen here wearing a Morrisville full zip tackle twill sweatshirt. It comes in sizes XS - XXLG, and carries a regular price of $49.99. Remember, though, during the 12 days of Christmas sale, you can get this shirt, and many other items, at 25% off! The sale ends on Friday, December 14, 2007, so stop in soon!

Thanks for modeling, Kirsten!

Week 3 Food Waste Results

2007-12-13T08:16:00.001-08:00

Our third week of weighing food waste at Seneca took place yesterday, and it was another huge success as far as the response we got from the people who came through in the time we were there. And without further ado, here are the results!

This week, during a lunch period that started at 11:30 and ended at 3:00, we had 531 people come through, and the results are:

153.4 pounds of food waste
13 gallons of liquid waste

Here is a picture of this week's table full of untouched food.

The Food Waste Weighing Wednesdays are one part of MAC's effort to be more green, in this case by trying to raise awareness of food waste. Since Seneca is an all you can eat facility, people have the option of taking less food and then going back for more if they want it. Taking more and throwing it away not only wastes the food that was tossed - there is also the fuel usage of shipping the food here, then the fuel to get rid of it, plus the energy that went into preparing the extra servings that weren't eaten.

MAC will be doing more in the upcoming semester to become more environmentally friendly, so look for news, here in the blog, in MOCHA and in your e-mail when we return in January.

And thank you once again, everyone who has come through Seneca in the last three Wednesday lunch periods! You have all been truly gracious, and even better, truly interested in what we were doing. We appreciate that.

The Copper Turret Takes Meal Plans!

2007-12-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

Hello! I just wanted to remind all students that the Copper Turret, located on Main Street in town, accepts your meal plans! They have a great menu, which you can check out here. My personal favorite are their chicken sandwiches, yum, and their fries? They're like magic, they're so good. The semester is almost over, and you need a break from final exam stress, right? Well, what better way to de-stress than to stop in and relax with a good meal? They're open Tuesday - Saturday!

MAC Faces!

2007-12-11T09:39:00.000-08:00

Today I went down to the Campus Store and took a couple of pictures for the newest feature here on our MAC blog - MAC Faces! Two of our students who work at the Campus Store were nice enough to agree to model for us.

First up, giGi is modeling an MSC sweatshirt (by MV Sport) in dark green. This sweatshirt is included in the 12 Days of Christmas sale, which is going on right now! The regular price is $39.99, and it is available in sizes Medium through 2XL. If you purchase this shirt before the sale ends on Friday, you'll get 25% off, so don't delay!

Next is Amanda, who is modeling a brand new item at the Campus Store. This is an organic tee, from TLC Sportswear. The tag on the shirt reads: This is an environmentally sustainable product which has been produced using certified organic cotton grown according to international standards.

Organic cotton never uses genetically modified organism (GMO) seed, nor is it grown with the use of pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers.

All factories involved in producing this product protect workers by adhering to the Fair Labor Standards which insures that farmers are paid a fair price for their cotton.

This new t-shirt comes in sizes small through 2XL, and sells for $15.99. Stop in and check them out today!

Thank you giGi and Amanda, for being our first models!

Shop24 Full!

2007-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

Great news! Our suppliers have finally come through, and Shop24 is now full of great products for you! Check it out next time you walk by.

And remember! If you have any suggestions for what you want us to carry in Shop24, send it to us in an e-mail at: shop24@morrisville.edu!

Thank you for your patience while we set up our new supplier accounts, and have fun shopping!

Food Waste Weight Results - Week Two

2007-12-06T07:35:00.000-08:00

Our second Food Waste Weighing Wednesday went off great! Once again, the people who came through were very courteous and showed a lot of interest in what we were doing, and we truly appreciate that!

Our totals were a little better than last week, too! This week we had 554 people come through during the hours of 11:30 and 3:00. Our weight totals were:

133 pounds of edible waste.
12 gallons of liquid waste.

This shows a reduction in food waste from last week. Of course two days of weighing waste isn't enough to make a judgment on, but I hope this means that people are being more conscious of how much food they are taking. What do you think? Are you more aware of how much is being thrown away? Are you taking less to reduce that amount? Let us know! Leave a comment - we'll be happy to see your thoughts.

We still had a table full of untouched food, however. Is this something that can be reduced? What do you think?

Dining Locations Closing/Opening for Winter Break

2007-12-05T11:29:00.001-08:00

I was recently sent the closing/opening hours for the dining locations over winter break. Flyers will be going up, it will be appearing in MOCHA and of course an e-mail will be sent out, but you lucky blog readers get the information first! There are good things about reading this blog. :)

First up, here is when all of the locations will be closing at the end of the semester.

Mustang Alley: Closing Tuesday, 12/18/07 at 4:00 p.m.
Smooth Jazzy Joz: Closing Thursday, 12/20/07 at 1:00 p.m.
Seneca: Closing Thursday, 12/20/07 at 10:30 a.m. (serving breakfast only)
The Pit Stop: Closing Thursday, 12/20/07 at 11:00 a.m.
Stix: Closing Friday, 12/14/07 at 3:00 p.m.

And here is when they'll be opening back up for the spring semester.

Mustang Alley: Opening Monday, 01/21/08 at 11:00 a.m.
Smooth Jazz Joz: Opening Monday, 01/21/08 at 7:30 a.m.
Seneca: Opening Sunday, 01/20/08 at 4:30 p.m.
The Pit Stop: Opening Monday, 01/21/08 at 7:30 a.m.
Stix: Opening Tuesday, 01/02/08.

The new regular hours for the dining locations in the spring semester will be posted here soon. Thanks!

Campus Store Sale and Open House

2007-12-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I'm back to let you know of the great sale that is currently going on at the Campus Store. If you need to do some holiday shopping, make sure to check out their 12 Days of Christmas sale! New items are added to the sale every day for the duration of the sale, all at 25% off. The sale runs until December 14th.

And while I'm talking about the Campus Store, stop by on Thursday of this week (12/6/07) for their holiday open house, and meet local favorite author Maggie Shayne, who will be in the store from Noon - 2:00 p.m. signing copies of her latest book! The open house will run from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., and will feature storewide discounts, prize giveaways and refreshments, so don't miss out!

Thanks for reading! And share the link with your friends!

Shop24 News

2007-11-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

We are in the process of turning Shop24 from being operated by All Seasons to being operated by MAC. We are lining up new suppliers, and will have a short gap of time before they'll begin delivering stock to us to refill the machine. We ask that you please be patient while we work on this. We want to make Shop24 better for you.

And in that regard, we would like feedback from you on what you would like us to carry in the machine. What kinds of products, in what sizes? If you want soda, do you want individual cans or bottles or 6-packs? If you want candy bars, do you want regular size, king size or movie theater size? Give us as much detail as you can for each product. We want to make sure that Shop24 carries what you want, and this feedback will help us do that!

You can comment here with your suggestions, or e-mail us at shop24@morrisville.edu.

Thanks for your input!

Food Waste Weight Results!

2007-11-29T05:56:00.000-08:00

Our first Food Waste Weighing Wednesday went so well! I want to thank everyone who came through Seneca for lunch yesterday - you were all very pleasant and interested and we appreciate your good attitude more than I can say. We are truly lucky to have such a great bunch of students here at MSC.

So, are you ready for some results? Here you go. First, a picture, so you have a visual.

What do you think? Does it look like a lot of food? Well, here are the totals for you. Yesterday during the lunch period - from about 11:30 until 3:00 - we had 561 people come through the dish return. Those people threw away 177.3 pounds of food - that's what you see sitting there in those four bins. As for liquid, 11 gallons were thrown away. We are researching ways to utilize this food waste, so that it doesn't all end up bagged and going to the dump. Any ideas? Send them to us through the comments! We'd love to hear them.

Here's another picture for you.

This is a table full of food that was thrown away completely untouched. Grilled cheese sandwiches, deli sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, desserts, bananas and more. This actually shocked me more than the bins did.

So what do you all think? Did this experiment make you think more about how much food you take? Did the results surprise you? Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts! We'll be happy to hear them as well.

And thanks once more to everyone who came through, for your great attitudes. Our students are the best!

Food Waste Weighing Wednesdays

2007-11-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! Welcome back from Thanksgiving break! I hope you all had a great time, hanging out with your families and relaxing. Isn't it nice to be able to take some time off? I know I certainly enjoy it.

So, this is the premiere of our new MAC blog. I am going to be writing in here regularly, to tell you all of the things you should know. My name is Denise, and I am the marketing person for MAC (Morrisville Auxiliary Corporation). I'm hoping that you all will stop in here from time to time to find out what's going on. I'll be sharing all kinds of important information that people on campus should know. I thinks it's going to be a fun place here in MAC blog land, so make it a regular online stop!

Okay, introduction over now - I have the first bit of information that you should know! We at MAC are trying to be more "green" conscious. We're researching ways that we can help the environment - starting with small things like using both sides of the paper that we print on and recylcling all of our plastic bottles. Well, this week starts our next step in this process: Food Waste Weighing Wednesday, at Seneca Dining Hall.

What, you may ask, is Food Waste Weighing Wednesday, at Seneca Dining Hall? Well, I'm glad you asked! We are trying to find out how much "edible" waste is thrown away every day. We may not think we throw much away, but if you add up everyone's edible waste over the course of a day, it's bound to add up, right? So we're going to start weighing it.

This is a process that won't require anything from the person eating at Seneca, so don't worry! You get your meals and eat as you normally would. When you're done, you bring your tray up to the dish return, just like always. Only instead of throwing everything away in one bin and setting the dishes on the belt, you'll give your tray to a staff member who will be there. At this point, your job is done. Easy! Now that the staff member has your tray, they will put all of your "edible" waste - things like leftover French fries or fruit or bites of sandwich - even drinks that aren't empty - into a bin seperate from the actual trash. This edible waste will be gathered up and weighed at the end of the lunch period, and the results will be posted on Thursdays, here on this blog, in e-mail and on posters that will be hung up at Seneca.

We're hoping that this endeavor will simply open our eyes to how much food gets thrown away every day. Because after all, we have to be aware of things like this before we can change for the better.

So, remember - if you go to Seneca on Wednesday for lunch, expect to see us at the dish return, gathering up your edible waste.

And welcome back to school! We missed you while you were gone.