Student Engagement launches lunch pilot program

Student Engagement has partnered with local restaurant Charles & Terry Gourmet Chinese to create a lunch pilot program that provides UW Tacoma students more on-campus meal options. e program launched May 15 and will continue until the end of spring quarter. It is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Dawg House, MAT 153.

e goal of the program is to pro- vide a larger variety of food options for students to choose from during lunch time. On a given day, students can purchase one of three entrées, with a different set of three items each day. which rotate to different items each day, served with a side of steamed rice. Stu- dents can expect to see entrées such as beef and broccoli, Kung Pao chicken, lemon chicken, curry chicken and Szechuan beef in the rotation of dishes. Vegetarian options like a vegetable de- light and eggplant Szechuan will also be in the rotation. A small serving size costs $6, while a larger serving is priced at $8.

Charles & Terry Gourmet Chinese is located on Bridgeport Way in University Place. Taiwanese brothers Jason and Brandon Lee opened Charles & Terry three years ago. Brandon Lee, an alumnus of UWT, works on outreach and started a similar program at Tacoma Community College. Jason Lee manages the corporate side of the business and acts as a sounding board for the company.

“I was born in Taiwan, but Tacoma is our home,” Brandon Lee said. “We want to help serve our community, and this is one way we can do that. We started with TCC first because they are just down the street from us. We want students to have good healthy options when they have lunch.”

Charles & Terry Gourmet Chinese, named after the Lees’ nephews, offers what the Lees call a “more modern” approach to serving Chinese food. e brothers focus their restaurant on providing healthy food with fast service at affordable prices.

Initial student feedback of the pilot program appears to be positive. One student, freshman Austin Scott, offered his opinion of the program.

“The food is good, and the price is not too bad for what you get,” Scott stated. “I would be happy to see it return for next year with more options to choose from.”

If the program is successful, it will return autumn quarter 2018. Future plans include an expanded menu for students to choose from, with possible additions like more soup selections, tofu options and a sweet treat such as shaved ice.

“We encourage students to give us feedback, what they liked and what they did not like,” Brandon Lee said. “We want to work with the UWT next year, too. This is only a preview of what we would have for autumn.”