Customers can now purchase a variety of breakfast, lunch and ice cream options at the new UDairy Creamery Mini Market.

UDairy in Arsht Hall in Wilmington

Article by Gillian Zucker and Dante LaPenta Photo by Monica Moriak October 02, 2018

UDairy Creamery Mini Market opens at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

UDairy Creamery, a student-run venture that produces and serves premium ice cream from cows milked on the University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) farm, opened a new location at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in Wilmington.

“Our new UDairy Creamery Mini Market is a great way to connect with another UD campus just down the road from our Market Street location,” said UDairy Creamery market manager LeeAnne Ahamad. “Our student employees have the chance to gain further work experience and connect with another very active group of UD students.”

OLLI Manager Jennifer Merrill said members — adults 50 and over who enjoy courses without grades, exams or educational prerequisites — are enthusiastic about making connections with UD undergraduate students on the main campus in Newark and in the Associate in Arts program on the Wilmington campus.

UD's Arsht Hall is located at 2700 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington, Delaware.

“We have an extraordinary collection of members in any field you can imagine,” Merrill said. “As the relationships between members and students grow through networking and discussion about fields of study, it will benefit both members and students.”

She hopes that OLLI can invite UDairy’s student staff to discuss how its mission impacts undergraduate students and their education with the members.

Starting in September, customers can now purchase a variety of breakfast, lunch and ice cream options from UDairy. The café is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., offering a hearty meal to lifelong learners during their class breaks. The café staff is composed of students who work at UDairy’s Wilmington location on 815 North Market St.

The decision to bring UDairy to OLLI involved a task force comprised of Merrill, Jim Broomall, associate provost of Professional and Continuing Studies (PCS), Linda Osoinach, senior business administrator of PCS, Joan Miller, OLLI Council past chair, Carol Bernard, past manager and OLLI members Paul Arruda, Ruth Flexman and Susan Arruda. The group considered food choices, dietary needs, equipment issues, operating hours, pricing and credit card usage before making their choice.

Susan Arruda was impressed by UDairy’s recyclable, reusable and dishwasher-safe containers that related to the OLLI Eco Team’s initiatives to increase recycling and eco-friendly practices on the campus. She noted how the café will provide a social atmosphere for networking.

“By incorporating a University of Delaware staple, OLLI is becoming more involved with the overall community,” said Arruda.

As an OLLI member, Arruda attended classes in everything from art history to French to yoga. In addition to her student role, she also teaches a course called Connections, which features guest speakers like Melinda Shaw, manager of UDairy Creamery Operations.

“People go and take classes with us to broaden their mind,” Arruda added. “Having UDairy students working at Arsht Hall is a chance to see how the generations interact. It’ll give the student workers an opportunity to see that education doesn’t stop when you graduate.”

About Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI)

With locations in Wilmington, Dover, Lewes and Ocean View, Delaware, OLLI boasts nearly 4,000 members statewide, hailing from different educational backgrounds and all walks of life. Across all locations, members participated in more than 900 classes offered in fall, spring and summer sessions last year. Arsht Hall is located at 2700 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington, DE 19806. For more information about the Wilmington lifelong learning program, visit the program’s website or contact the program at 302-573-4486 or LLL-Wilm@udel.edu.