Landon has launched a new initiative designed to give students a real voice in their dining experience. It’s a cross‑divisional Food Committee working in partnership with Sage Dining Services.
Student representatives from the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools meet monthly over breakfast with Sage’s General Manager Jesse Phillips, Chef Darren Lewis, Chef Rowena Montano, and Landon’s Director of Operations Kathy Wellington.
The group is helping shape menus, improve communication, and strengthen the sense of community around meals.
For many committee members, the chance to represent classmates with dietary needs was a major motivation.
“I just wanted to have an input on what I ate for lunch,” said Graham Hays ’31, who has celiac disease. “It feels good because I know I’m being heard. I’m appreciative that I got the opportunity to be in this committee and that I get to be a representative for all the kids with allergies.”
Hays isn’t the only student who jumped at the chance. Wellington said she got a “yes” from every student she reached out to. She assembled the committee with intention, seeking a wide range of ages, backgrounds, food sensitivities, and dietary restrictions.
Food Committee members: Musa Alie ’32, Brayden Ashin ’31, Nathan Cantor ’27, Myles Dworkin ’28, Landon Han ’32, Graham Hays ’31, Miles Huang ’30, Oliver Kharbanda ’32, Yusuf Lochner ’30, Julian Olmstead ’26, Samir Turner ’30
“I have allergies and I thought it was a cool idea. We haven’t had something like this before and I was interested in joining,” said Julian Olmstead ’26.
Committee members say it feels great to see their ideas take shape on the menu.
“I have some dietary restrictions, and that was kind of an issue in previous years. Now, there’s an allergen‑free station, which has been really helpful. It’s validating to see how much the Sage team cares for us and how they want to feed us the best food we can have.” said Nathan Cantor ’27.
There are other benefits as well.
“I get to meet new people and the Sage staff, who may not get to meet with kids a lot, get to know us. It feels good getting to interact with older students, too,” said Landon Han ’32.
“It has been interesting to learn about what goes on in the kitchen and interesting to see the menus and make suggestions,” Samir Turner ’30 added. “They make mostly everything from scratch in the kitchen. I did not know that. It’s pretty cool.”
Phillips, the general manager, sees the committee as an essential part of the dining program. “Any feedback we get we take seriously because these students go through the dining experience every day. From the positive to the negative, it all helps us provide a better experience.”
“They bring such a great wealth of information and ideas – everything from serving breakfast (for lunch) more often to requesting lots of chicken and fruit,” Wellington added.
The committee has already contributed new ideas, including making comment cards available for everyone who comes through Lindner Dining Hall. It was an idea sparked by Musa Ali ’32, who first created his own version for his homeroom class.
"It was such a success that Sage created their own professional cards,” Wellington explained. “Now they’re in all three divisions and faculty, staff, and students are able to reach out and utilize the comment cards. We’ve gotten some really great feedback and great ideas from those.”
Looking ahead, Wellington hopes the committee will take on an even larger role in educating peers about food waste, healthy choices, and dining etiquette.
“These kids get here early on late start Wednesdays when they could be sleeping in. They’re dedicated,” she said. “I’d love to see them continue to be spokespeople and help our community be better stewards of our dining services.”
