Idaho State University opens new dining hall with donation

Idaho State University students have a new and improved place to eat on campus. Tuesday was the grand opening of “The Commons” in Turner Hall.

Chartwell’s, ISU’s dining services vendor, donated $1.3 million to renovate and improve “The Commons” space.

Lowell Richards, assistant vice president for student affairs at ISU, said the university worked hard not only to improve the space, but the quality of the food as well. And he said so far, students seem to love it.

“It’s fantastic and students are thrilled,” Lowell said. “Students when they came back to school when it started, they were so happy to have a new facility to dine in.”

Along with Tuesday’s grand opening of “The Commons,” Chartwell’s also donated $10,000 to Benny’s Pantry.

Benny’s Pantry is an on-campus food pantry that provides students with emergency food supplies. It goes through 8,000 to 9,000 pounds of food per year.

The $10,000 will help supply the pantry for the next one to two years. Benny’s Pantry said the donation will make a big difference.

“I see our students be able to thrive academically because of the food support we are able to provide,” said Brooke Barber, director of orientation, leadership and services at ISU. “But we can’t provide that food on our own and so the support of the Pocatello community and the support of Chartwell’s, does go quite a long ways to help us and we are immensely grateful.”

“The Commons” offers a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu. It has a grill, a pizza station, world cuisines and more. It’s hours are from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.