Student Government Association

Students Going After the Facts

College Dining Goes Upscale

Food matters to students

About 44% of college students polled in a national trends report released in August indicated that their school’s dining program was at least somewhat important in deciding where to enroll. However, only 32% said their school does a good job of making sure students are pleased with the overall dining experience.

Sixty-two percent of college and university students purchase food or beverages from on-campus food service at least once a week, and 20% do so at least once a day, according to the report by Technomic, a Chicago-based food industry research firm. The nation’s 16 million college and university students command more than $300 billion in spending power, the report says.

Universities try to capture as much as they can by keeping dining facilities open much of the day, and by offering options late into the night for those who grab a fourth meal of the day after 7 p.m. (Breakfast still is the least popular meal for students.)

A new sushi bar in the Union Café at UWM has students lining up to buy create-your-own sushi rolls. Students choose the protein (tuna, smoked salmon, bulgogi Korean-style marinated beef, imitation crab or tofu) and vegetables (shredded carrot, spinach, pickled radish, cucumber) to build a $4.95 roll. It’s made fresh, right in front of them.

“It’s cool to have a sushi bar here,” said Levi Miles, a sophomore from Black River Falls. “Now we don’t have to leave campus for sushi” – something Miles said he did often last year.

Miles moved off campus this year but remembers the challenge of deciding what to eat in the dorm with so much food available. “I really like junk food, so I have to be careful.”

Fighting ‘Freshman 15′

Twenty-one percent of America’s college students are overweight, and nearly 12% are obese, according to a 2010 National College Health Assessment by the American College Health Association.

Freshmen living away from home for the first time still face the legendary Freshman 15. That’s the amount of weight commonly believed to be gained during the first year of college due to lack of exercise, eating late at night, eating carbohydrate-rich cafeteria-style and fast food, and drinking alcohol in excess while maintaining a hectic, stressful schedule.

Recent studies show that on average, most freshmen gain five pounds, not 15, according to www.freshman15.com”>www.freshman15.com, a website devoted to preventing the Freshman 15.

Miles said he actually lost weight as a freshman because he has high metabolism.

“You do a lot of walking on campus,” said Michaeleen Wilmsen, a UWM senior from Appleton, who acknowledged she had to be careful about weight gain freshman year. “My advice to freshmen is if you’re going to drink a lot of beer, cut down on the carbs.”

Concordia freshman Zach Fohr of Plymouth said he grew up eating healthy food at home. He was happy with a salad he recently assembled for lunch at a new salad bar in a central dining hall, dubbing it “awesome.”

Universities offer advice to students on nutrition, and much of that advice is accessed through the Internet. Concordia emails its students a regular student life newsletter, readsh101.com/cuw.html”>readsh101.com/cuw.html.

Concordia has seen a 7% drop in soda consumption in the past year, said Gary Quinn, general manager of Sodexo at Concordia, a national food service company that also has a contract for dining services at Marquette.

Flavored water, vitamin-enhanced water and juices are now the popular beverages of choice, Quinn said, though milk is holding steady.

Read the whole story at the following link: http://www.jsonline.com/features/food/130196748.html

So what do you think?

Remember, your opinion matters, so let your voice be heard!

What is your opinion of the dining choices offered at YOUR institution. Well, the Community Action Committee would like to encourage you to let them know. Contact information for the committee is provided below.

This email is provided as a service from the Community Action Committee, a committee within SGA, which seeks to promote awareness about prominent issues, concerns, etc., that affect students, MSOE, and the surrounding community. If there is an issue that you would like to see addressed or discussed, please contact the Community Action Committee. Contact information is provided below:

gill@msoe.edu

ihlenb@msoe.edu

ruechelr@msoe.edu

 schermerhornh@msoe.edu