Let’s face it: Finding a college student who is crazy about on-campus dining options is a rare occurrence at most universities. However, in spite of their longing for a home-cooked meal or a Double-Double with fries and a shake, the vast majority of on-campus students eventually come to terms with the fact that they are plagued by unrivaled laziness and consistently empty pockets. Such a pairing makes trips to grocery stores, cooking and eating out at off-campus restaurants rather uncommon, placing on-campus dining as an invaluable asset to a student’s very survival.
Fortunately for those San Diegan college students equipped with meal plans and big appetites, UCSD, San Diego State University and the University of San Diego have joined multiple campuses throughout the nation to meet the demands for more upscale and nutritious food choices.
In an effort to provide students with more healthy meals, campuses across the country including UCSD have switched recipes and cooking oils to eliminate trans fats, which can increase cholesterol levels and the risk of heart attack. In addition, dining halls are offering more vegetarian and vegan food options, organic meal items and a greater variety of made-to-order dishes and international cuisines.
The dining hall attempts to provide greater variety and healthier food alternatives as part of the universities’ strategy to improve the college dining image and live up to students’ higher food expectations. According to college officials, changes have been fueled by today’s health-conscious students, who have grown up traveling, sampling food abroad and watching celebrity-chef cooking shows.
Colleges want to move away from the commonly held view of on-campus dining as a sort of assembly-line service, cooking up shady mystery meat and suspicious-looking pizza. Of course burgers, pizza and French fries continue to be popular items on the menus at most dining halls, but fortunately they have become a lesser evil thanks to improved preparation techniques and the elimination of trans fats from cooking oils.
Aside from stereotypical meals like burgers and pizza, UCSD has been branching out to break the monotony of college dining. At UCSD’s Cafe Ventanas, students can enjoy a “”fine dining”” experience with selections such as prime rib, scampi or global theme nights that offer ethnic cuisines from regions such as Africa and India. Students can also choose from delicious stir-fry dishes, fresh salad bars and tasty, toasted sandwiches.
Inevitably, the broader selections and upscale items come at a price to students. Because of the improvements, San Diego universities have boosted their food prices. This is not surprising, considering that some hungry freshmen and sophomores at UCSD end up reloading their meal points before spring quarter rolls around. However, San Diego universities report that students are willing to pay more in order to get food that they really enjoy – the healthier, more varied meal options.
The efforts being made at UCSD dining halls have been relatively successful. Walking into Canyon Vista, OceanView Terrace or Cafe Ventanas during bustling evening hours demonstrates that dining hall dishes keep students coming back for more. Even if a few items seem entirely unappealing to some students, chances are there are always safe choices such as sandwiches, freshly grilled cheeseburgers or stir-fry for those of us who aren’t the most adventurous of dining hall patrons.
A great deal of the abuse that many dining halls have to put up with is entirely undeserved. Irritable college students should really find new targets for their troubles and angst, because dining hall food really isn’t that bad. Considering the fact that there are nearly a dozen eateries to choose from on campus, there is really something for everyone at UCSD. From Cafe Ventanas’ freshly prepared sushi to El Mercado’s Mexican dishes and Plaza Cafe’s rotisserie chicken and cornbread, students can’t exactly say that their options are limited.
Clearly, UCSD’s Housing and Dining Services has put in the effort to improve the quality and variety of the campus’ food, and is truly conscious of students’ demands and expectations. Even if dining hall dinners might pale in comparison to your mom’s home-cooked meals, there’s no denying the fact that dining halls are making improvements in order to cater to students’ needs (plus, it’s unlikely that your mom has to make dinner for over 300 students on a daily basis). Now that’s something that should bring smiles and satisfied tummies to students with every swipe of their meal cards.
