The Hornet’s Nest is planning on adding a new meat smoker and ice cream machine on March 18.

  “We had really good feedback from the students that they would love to have ice cream or the ice cream option every day,” said Carmen Leeds, director of memorial union. “So we made the decision to go ahead to purchase one.”

   The Hornet’s Nest had an ice cream machine, but it broke last fall, and could not be fixed, according to Leeds.

   The ice cream machine costs $15,000, which came from the Memorial Union budget, according to Leeds. The Memorial Union was going to use that money to buy an oven, but since the oven was fine, they bought an ice cream machine.

   “(It was) very expensive, but we feel like we want to make an investment for the students. This particular ice cream machine we are looking at has a very good expectancy of lasting eight to 10 years,” Leeds said, “If we can get that length of time from the machine, it’s worth to have it for students.”

   They decided to get a meat smoker because Sodexo received good feedback on their smoked food from other institutions, according to Leeds.

   Myron Bridges, the general manager of Sodexo at Emporia State, said the cost for the smoker would be around $300, but that he hadn’t received the bill yet.

   “I’ve been in food service for a long time, and it’s Kansas. I believe that Kansas is the home of barbeque,” Bridges said. “In order to provide a good experience, and change the meal in dining hall, I decided that we need a smoker.“

The meat smoker takes 14 hours to process the meat, according to Bridges.                    

   “We will do all sorts of events with it. I’m waiting on the summer to come, or the spring, and we will be outside,” Bridges said. “I hope it is welcomed. I believed it will be welcomed. I think it will bring the different flavors.”