By Shelley Garrett
Freshman 15, two words that are known to haunt many freshman students. Rumor has it that when students leave home and move in on campus, they tend to gain weight, hence the name “freshman 15.”
Many believe that the true culprit of the freshman 15 is the food served in the cafeteria. So the question is whether or not these two dreaded words are just a myth or an actual fact? If you’re a student who lives on campus, you have most likely gotten the opportunity to become well-acquainted with the cafeteria and the food they serve.
Some students believe that many healthy choices are not provided and that it is because of the lack of healthy choices that the freshman 15 even exists. One upperclassman said, “I feel that the only option they give you to eat healthy is the salad. When they do serve fresh vegetables they taste as if they are loaded with butter.”
Another student said, “It is definitely not easy to maintain a healthy diet considering the only thing good to eat is usually the pizza and not so many healthy choices are given, especially on the weekends.” Some athletes even feel that is hard to maintain a healthy diet on what is served in the cafeteria.
One football player said, “I think the problem isn’t that they don’t serve healthy food; the problem is that they don’t have enough variety, and the food they do have doesn’t fill me up. I don’t get enough nutrients when I eat there so when I leave I feel as if I just go out and eat junk food.”
To other students, the cafeteria is great for helping them maintain a healthy diet and avoid weight gain. The caf gives plenty of choices throughout the day that satisfies each student’s particular nutritional needs. One freshman said, “Even as a picky eater I still feel like it’s easy to find something good and healthy to eat in the cafeteria.” Another student said that you can usually find something to eat in the cafeteria that is somewhat healthy.
Do you ever wonder what goes on behind the swinging double doors of the cafeteria? How much thought truly goes into what is being cooked for students? Are the menus planned out carefully or are they just slapped together?
While interviewing Billy Hicks, Executive Chef, I asked him his own personal opinions of the food served along with how the caf goes about planning meals for each month. Hicks stated, “We try to make each meal balanced. We do this by making sure that all food groups are met in each meal. We also have this new program called “Just for You.” This is where we try to bake, grill and steam foods instead of settling with fattening fried food. In order to maintain flavor without adding those extra calories, we use olive oil instead of vegetable oil or butter. There are many food stations available to students as well that host several different food options. For the veggie lovers who search for more than just a salad, we host a vegetarian station. On some days it may have vegetable lasagna, other days it may have steamed vegetables or even risotto. Along with the vegetarian station, we offer stations like the dessert bar, a place to make smoothies, waffles, wraps and sandwiches, fruit, pizza and hamburgers. The students have plenty of healthy choices, it just all depends on whether or not they want to take advantage of them.”
The cafeteria staff seems to put much thought into every single meal that is cooked. If you are wondering how they decide what to cook each day it’s by a tool called a “menu builder.” It gives tons of options for them to cook. First they look through it and decide what meals they know students would not eat. Then they go back through and decide what meals would be best. They also look back at previous dates to see whether or not an item was successful or not.
Hicks also says, “We will try to accommodate everyone’s needs. Whether you are lactose intolerant or on a special diet, most of the options we have are very accommodating. If by chance we don’t have something students would like they can always make a request. Soon we will have at the stations nutritional information about each meal. This will help students known what types of foods are better than others. We are even looking into a “water bar,” a place that would have different types of fruit like berries, lemons, etc., for students to add to their water. We’re hoping that this may encourage students to lay off the soda and drink more water. It all truly comes down to this; 10 to 1 students go for the greasy cheeseburger over the vegetables. Students choose what they eat. Our job is to provide a variety of healthy options for students, whether they take it is their decision.”
The cafeteria also provides a menu online for each day. Along with the menu it also provides nutritional facts and information on allergies. If you are searching for more information, check out the Web site, http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSSE/CharlestonSouthern/. So, is it possible for students to maintain a healthy diet while eating selections served in the cafeteria? Looks like you’ll just have to decide for yourself.