Fresh Food Company: Not so fresh after all

Image by Wake Forest University via Flickr

Sidhika Hemraj/ Contributing Writer

opinion@fiusm.com

There are many benefits of living on campus. Being able to build a network of friends, participating in school related activities, getting to class on time and especially having a meal plan so you don’t have to cook every day are some of the best things offered to us. But what happens when you start going to the cafeteria and there’s nothing to eat?

Fresh Food Company is the main cafeteria here at the University and on many days, I overhear complaints from students. Sometimes going to the cafeteria is pointless as there is nothing to suffice the hunger of a student after a long day. If the cafeteria is closing at 11 p.m., staff start closing at 9 p.m. They start packing away food trays, cleaning up tables and closing down stations. This minimizes the options left for students to eat.

Since there is no food at the stations, hungry, irritated people gravitate towards the salad bar in hopes of creating a hearty salad. However, nothing. The lettuce trays consist of scraps of lettuce, no spinach is left and  there is barely any salad dressing!

On other days, there is food; however, there is no variety. The stir fry station usually has commendable fried rice, but sometimes the options are only pork and tofu. What about the people who don’t eat pork or don’t like tofu? A university cafeteria is supposed to cater to all of the possible likings of the school.

Also, the vegetarian options are limited. There are only two vegetarian dishes served. Although there is a salad bar, vegetarians include a lot more interesting dishes in their diet than just salad.

Better days arrive eventually, when Fresh actually has food to feed students throughout the entire day. These days only occur when the supervisors are in the cafeteria keeping an eye on the cafeteria staff. It is unbelievable how spectacular their services are when they are being watched and made sure they are catering to our needs, as they should. When supervisors are not in the cafeteria, many of the staff tend to lounge around holding conversations with each other without even acknowledging hungry students waiting in line for food.

So, what is the point of getting a meal plan when you are barely ever satisfied after leaving the cafeteria? Why should students constantly go to Fresh to only be disappointed? Simply because they have no choice. The meal plan entails Fresh Food Company as the main staple of food.  Every day, students wonder if there will be improvement, and change has yet to occur. Consistency is necessary in the cafeteria as food is a very important part of a student’s day.  Food gives students the energy to get through the rest of their classes or even to win an upcoming sporting event.

Fresh Food Company needs to improve or else the number of meal plans bought at FIU will start to dwindle excessively. Students will start to inconvenience their schedules by trying to cook in their dorms or even start buying food from other restaurants. This will end up being more costly and not benefiting the student in the long run. Having a meal plan is a huge benefit to a college student and should be accessible and worth having.