Meal Guidelines

Sit-down Meals

At sit-down meals, a core Deerfield tradition, adults and young people share meals together in a family setting. These meals intend to cultivate respectful behavior, thoughtfulness toward others, a sense of formality and attention to manners. The make-up of the tables changes regularly to encourage students to meet and converse with both adults and students outside their own sphere of familiarity.

All faculty and students must be at their assigned tables in the Dining Room when the meal begins. There is a salad bar in the lower lobby for use by sit-down attendees only. The offerings on this salad bar are those in the Parker Room. Anyone wishing to use the salad bar must do so BEFORE the start of the sit-down meal. The salad bar in the Parker Room is to be used by Parker Room diners only.

Attendance is recorded at all sit-down meals; absences accrue accountability points.

Mealtime Guidelines

• Students must be punctual in arriving at sit-down meals. Upon arrival at the Dining Hall, students should wait in the lobby until the four main doors to the dining room are opened. Pick up salads and sandwiches before the doors open.
• Students should be at their tables before the saying of grace. When grace begins, all motion in the Dining Hall stops; if not at a table, students should stop and stand still until the conclusion of the grace.
• Students should request permission to leave the table for any reason. Only one student should be away from the table at a time.
• Students wishing to speak with students outside of their own table should request permission to do so.
• Most tables have one faculty member and nine students, including one (or two) day student(s). If a faculty child or spouse attends a meal and the capacity of the table is exceeded, a student may be excused to eat at another table in the Dining Hall rather than eating downstairs.

Table Manners

• No one should begin to eat until everyone at the table has been served.
• No one should eat and talk at the same time or talk from table to table.
• Food should be passed around–not across–the table.
• Requests for food should be accompanied by please.
• When food is passed, students should take one item at a time to be sure that there is enough for everyone.
• The person who finishes a dish or beverage should offer to replenish it.
• No one may remove a sport coat unless the director of the Dining Hall grants permission.
• Conversations at the table should be of general interest to everyone.
• Athletic attire, outerwear, tank-tops, and hats are not to be worn in the Dining Hall–even during walk-through meals. (Exceptions are granted for teams whose practices/games leave them no time to change.)

Waiting

All students take turns working in the Dining Hall at sit-down meals. Jobs include waiting, dish crew, and row Captains. Students will have a job for several table rotations a year. A rotation lasts approximately three weeks. Guidelines for waiters are as follows:

• The first waiter arrives approximately fifteen minutes before the start of the meal. They are responsible for setting the table and for clearing the soup course. (Information on what is needed for each meal is listed on the blackboard in the kitchen.)
• Second waiters are responsible for clearing the table after the soup and main courses. They bring dessert after the table has been cleared completely.
• Waiters should pick up salad bowls, glasses and dessert plates at individual places; dinner plates may be passed, individually, around the table to the waiter who should scrape and stack them on the serving tray.  Plates should not be scraped at the dining table.
• If a waiter is not present for any reason, or cannot wait, the next student on the table list is the substitute.
• Day students should second wait on Thursday noon. If a table has two day students, the second one on the table list should wait on Friday noon.

The Parker Room

• The downstairs dining hall (the Parker Room) is not an option for everyone: only people not assigned to an upstairs table may eat there.
• If a table is cut or a visitor comes to a table upstairs, students at that table should find a place upstairs at another table rather than moving downstairs.
• If day students remain on campus for dinner, they must eat upstairs.
• Athletes are responsible for showering and changing in time to make it to their assigned places in the Dining Room.
• Meal service at lunch will be staggered to accommodate everyone and ensure that teaching faculty and students can return to class on time. Meal service begins at 11:30AM for faculty and staff not subject to the class schedule. The Parker Room must be available for teaching faculty and students by noon.
• Only “overflow from sit-down” served Monday, Tuesday, and Friday from 11:50-12:20, and Thursdays from 12:10-12:40. Serving all other community members from 12:30 until 12:45.

Walkthrough Meals

• Class dress is required at all breakfast meals on school days.
• Hats, tank tops, or athletic practice clothes during walkthrough meals are prohibited.