What is that wonderful smell? There is a pleasant aroma wafting throughout the campus. Could it be shredded chicken or possibly chili? No, perhaps it’s BBQ beef or pizza. No matter what the aroma, it certainly tempts my taste buds.

These are the thoughts that go through my mind each day around five o’clock. That is the time that students are arriving at the campus and preparing to begin classes. Most come to the campus directly from work and have no time for dinner so they take turns providing the meal for their fellow classmates.

Each class is responsible for their own dinner. Sometimes the students bring in home-cooked meals and other times they order pizza or subs. The meals can be as simple as a crock pot of chili or as detailed as turkey and all the fixings. It depends on how much time the students providing the meal have to prepare it.

The classes or groups are provided with a “food tote” when their class convenes for night zero. They use the food tote to store items such as paper plates, napkins, salt and pepper, and plastic ware. This eliminates the need to carry such items back and forth to the campus.

No matter what the meal may be, the opportunity to share a meal and a laugh or two is a perk that seems to please everyone. The dinner time allows the students to unwind from a long day at work and enjoy fellowship with one another. It helps build relationships that only become stronger over the 22 months the students have together.