Anonymous wrote:We always just pack hearty snacks for kids and sometimes for parents.

I'm the PP who discovered the Panera when we screwed this up ... and yeah, this is the best way to go.

My new motto: Always plan for finals, even when there's no chance of finals.

We always just pack hearty snacks for kids and sometimes for parents.

Pre-covid, they all did, at least any meet at GMU. There was hot dogs, smoothies, donuts, coffee, so much in the upstairs room. I wonder if those guys stopped doing it after covid and there hasn't been someone to take their place. It was nice to be able to grab something there, or a post meet candy or donut when the kids were little. Now at GMU meets you're at the mercy of whether there is anything in the vending machine left.

Anonymous wrote:At UMD sometimes they have a little snack bar on the bottom level of the bleachers area selling stuff but it is all junk. Nothing healthy for the swimmers except maybe bananas.

Last year I got hard boiled eggs and a banana at that snack bar. They mostly sold Ruffles and sodas though. The eggs did not go over well with my group 🤷‍♀️

At UMD sometimes they have a little snack bar on the bottom level of the bleachers area selling stuff but it is all junk. Nothing healthy for the swimmers except maybe bananas.

Anonymous wrote:There is a Panera upstairs in the UMD student union (we discovered this at summer JOs when DD unexpectedly made finals and caught us completely unprepared).

Not haute cuisine but worked in a pinch. After swim, if it’s open, don’t miss The Creamery (at UMD) if you like ice cream.

The dining hall at UMD that is outside of epply is very good and not expensive

Anonymous wrote:There is a Panera upstairs in the UMD student union (we discovered this at summer JOs when DD unexpectedly made finals and caught us completely unprepared).

Not haute cuisine but worked in a pinch. After swim, if it’s open, don’t miss The Creamery (at UMD) if you like ice cream.

My kids love going to the Little Blue Menu after a meet!

Last year at Winter Classic we had a robot deliver food to the swim center!