Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free students have struggled to find sufficient meal options for themselves, both in the cafeteria and in The Market at Alvin’s.
David James García, music theater/vocal performance senior, lives a vegan and gluten-free lifestyle but said he struggles to find the right nutrients to maintain a healthy diet through the campus dining services.
“It can be a little bit frustrating. A lot of the time different things fluctuate but it is never in the same realm, and they have the same couple things all the time,” García said. “It’s especially frustrating because the same thing is happening in the caf where there’s still not enough options for students who are vegan or have special diets, and in that instance you would go to Alvin’s, who also doesn’t have much, which leads to me scrounging for things and eventually spending my own money off campus instead of the meal plan I’m paying for.”
Last year, a focus group was conducted on campus under a former faculty member to work on tailoring the dining service options to what the students desired. However, after said faculty member left the university, no major changes came from the focus group results. Students, having heard about the focus group and then finding a continued lack of vegan and vegetarian options, were left wondering what happened and why no changes had been made.
Casey Kreger, director of residence life, also works very closely with both dining services and the company who provides all food to the university, Chartwells. Kreger said this focus group, though not the last one that will happen on campus, did not show results impactful enough to make any significant changes.
“I do have the other person’s records, but there is nothing that shows any huge results or assessments from that focus group,” Kreger said. “The best way for students to give feedback is on Sept. 24 in our first dining community meeting, but the idea is that maybe we will have a couple of different times so students that can’t make one can make the other. We want to make sure students are able to be there to answer their questions and receive the information.”
Dining officials said they are taking steps to listen to student concerns regarding this issue, such as bringing back the hummus bowls to Alvin’s after significant student input regarding the lack of them. However, students say both the caf and Alvin’s are still lacking when it comes to providing a well-rounded diet to students with specific nutritional issues.
García said he has noticed a lack of protein options for vegan students consistently at meal times, which is a vital part of their nutrition. He said these need to be more readily available to students if at all possible. He also said there was a major lacking point in the gluten-free options for students who physically cannot have gluten.
Kreger said in order to make change, students can reach out in the proper ways to report these concerns to school officials, so they can work to better the options provided on campus.
“We’re never going to be able to please every student because that is an impossible thing to do,” Kreger said. “If we look at what can we do to help our students who have specific dietary restrictions, while also looking at how can we meet the average student, trying to balance those can be a struggle. But, in the market specifically and outside of the Jack and Olive brand that Chartwells uses, as long as it is one of Chartwells’ approved vendors, change can be discussed.”
Kreger said students should report their concerns to himself or Emily Anderson, head of dining services, or do so by attending the upcoming dining community meeting on Sept. 24 in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center, for which a time has not yet been announced, but will be soon in an email.
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