The gripes and groans heard daily about the residence hall dining services will soon be given a voice by the Inter-Residence Hall Association.

The association will vote tonight on a bill on whether to send ISU Dining Services a compilation of suggestions collected through surveys handed out to students in each of the residence hall associations.

IRHA President Paul Duncan said IRHA plans to follow up on its recommendations.

“IRHA will work with [Manager of Food Service] Carol Petersen and other employees of food service to see that these concerns and suggestions are addressed,” he said.

According to the report of suggestions, 51.4 percent of those surveyed would like to see longer hours of availability for students who have late classes. Those surveyed also complained there was not enough time to build an appetite between the lunch and dinner hours.

Sanitation concerns also were voiced, with a focus on the strict enforcement of hairnet use, cleaner salad-bar areas and tables, and better worker food handling.

The report also stated that students would like to see a larger variety of foods on the menus, including a better selection of vegetables at the salad bar and vegetarian foods. Respondents wanted fewer pasta dishes and fried chicken and more grilled or baked chicken dishes.

Suggestions about quality included improving the presentation and spicing of food and cutting down on the use of grease and butter.

UDA President Jeff Greiner, co-sponsor of the bill, said many of the suggestions are being addressed by Dining Services.

“The fact that they showed up on so many surveys implies that food service is falling short in their attempts at some of these issues,” he said, “and so the report that we have compiled is our attempt to bring that to their attention.”

Duncan said he would like to see the suggestions implemented as soon as possible.

“We owe it to the students to see that what they want out of food service is provided to them,” he said.

Results of the suggestions should be evident by next year, Greiner said.

IRHA will meet at 7 tonight in the Gallery Room of the Memorial Union. The report can be found on the IRHA Web site at http://irha.stuorg.iastate.edu.