BRIEF: Monarch Cafe is now providing online ordering and contactless pickup

Valley College adopts an online contactless pay and pick up system for the cafeteria.

Enrique and Steven, students at Valley College enjoy lunch outside of the cafeteria. "The cafeteria has been great about safety," Steven said. "They are doing a good job to keep us from getting sick." September 24, 2021. Valley Glen, Calif. (Ava Rosate/The Valley Star)

Food ready at the touch of a button; Valley College starts an online ordering service for Monarch Cafe.

Valley’s campus cafeteria, Monarch Cafe, is now available online. Starting the week of Oct. 19, students can place an order and pick it up as they arrive on campus. Through Pacific Dining, Monarch Cafe’s entire menu is available to select, pay for and pick up depending on the time and date of choice.

From their devices, students and faculty can place an order and pick it up five days in advance. To place an order Monarchs must create an account, select their food or drinks and checkout.

Pacific Dining is the district’s official food vendor, providing the food for Valley and the eight other campuses. After signing a 10-year contract with the vendor in June 2017, all cafeteria food has been provided by the company.

Valley personally contracts the Lion Cafe to Movita Juice Bar, which is set to re-open in the upcoming weeks. Through the Movita Juice Bar website, students can pre-order their drinks for pickup.

Previously, online ordering was not an option on campus. Students either had to go inside Monarch Cafe or the bookstore to order and purchase food and drinks.

Posters are set up outside Monarch Cafe advertising the new service, but across campus, students are unaware of the launch.

Open Monday through Thursday, the Monarch Cafe provides students an area to eat, chat and study. The online ordering system allows customers the convenience of cutting the line and contactless pickup through mobile ordering.

“If I am feeling lazy and I just don’t feel like going there [Monarch Cafe], I can prepare and do it ahead of time and it would be easier,” said first-year fire technology student Jayden Williams. “Just to keep people separated, so we are not in an enclosed environment. It would be pretty good for social distancing and such.”

— Benjamin Royer