If the world as we know it comes to an end and Hanover is the last remaining outpost of civilization, Dartmouth students could still count on a meal at Food Court.
At least for a while.
"We normally would have enough food on hand to feed all the students for almost three weeks," Dartmouth Dining Services director Tucker Rossiter said.
If, however, water and power are not available -- preventing the refrigeration of perishable goods and the use of grills -- DDS would fall back on its overstocked food, Rossiter said.
In such a situation, students would have most of the makings of a s'more -- chocolate and crackers -- in addition to enough tuna fish, peanut butter, jelly and bottled water to last four or five days.
Marshmallows to complete the s'mores are likely available in smaller quantities from Topside.
In the case of lost power, students would have to suffer through a few days of eating the most perishable goods.
"We'd have to eat the ice cream quick since we won't have power, so that would be on the first day's menu," Rossiter said.
"Plus, we have sodas and things like that," he added.
Much of the food DDS has, including fresh fruits and vegetables, can be prepared and eaten without heating, Rossiter said. This could allow close-to-normal food preparation in the case of a power outage.
While DDS has no provisions for students with food allergies or other dietary restrictions in its reserves of food, Rossiter said he believed the supplies to be varied enough to prevent problems.
A primary inspiration for the existence of the overstocks is a fear about terror-related disruptions to transportation that might halt shipments of food.
Many colleges and universities, including Dartmouth, implemented emergency contingency plans that include extra supplies of food after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I think we know anything could happen," he said.
Rossiter warned that the College could lose power or potable water for reasons other than terrorism.
Weather could prevent normal food distribution by the College, especially winter storms that have the potential to knock out electricity or block roads.
Rossiter said he recalled an incident several years ago where a nearby town lost power for many days as the result of an ice storm, a scenario not impossible for Hanover.
The College's power is provided by Granite State Electric. There have been periodic power blackouts at the College, though none recently have lasted.
A few years ago, he added, the Hanover water supply was thought to be contaminated, causing many students to resort to bottled water.
"It didn't turn out to be a valid concern, but we had enough water on hand to probably last two or three days, but since that time we've increased our water supply to last three or four days," he said.
The College receives shipments of food four times a week from their principle suppliers in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Some items, like produce, milk and bread, arrive six times a week.
Though the overstocks have not been used in his 19 years at the College, "I'd like to think Dining Services is prepared in case of whatever," Rossiter said.
