Dioslyn Oliva | Staff Writer
The Biscayne Bay Campus administration tried over the years to address student concerns regarding meal options. Yet through constant food shortages, limited hours of operation and lack of restaurant options, they continue to miss the mark.
College students are typically in and out of class and we need food to go on about our day. Preparing and bringing food from home isn’t the most convenient, since we barely have time to cook, which is among the reasons students buy food on campus.
FIU prides itself on offering over 35 dining locations among the three campuses, Modesto Maidique Campus, BBC and the Engineering Center. But out of these 35-plus dining locations, there are only four at BBC: Roary’s Bay Cafe, Starbucks, Vicky’s and Chick-fil-a.
Roary’s Bay Cafe and Chick-fil-A were recently added during the 2019 renovation of the Wolfe Center’s food court. But this isn’t enough for students, faculty or staff at BBC.
Chick-fil-A and Roary’s Bay Cafe offer only fast-food items, such as chicken sandwiches, burgers, pizza, and fries. Sure, Roary’s Bay Cafe offers healthy daily food specials, but overall, there aren’t many options to choose from when we compare our dining options to MMC.
To add, Vicky’s and Roary’s Bay Cafe close at 3:30 p.m., which affects those students with late-afternoon classes. It’s understandable many factors affected this, especially understaffing after the pandemic, but it’s been an issue before the pandemic.
These restaurants aren’t the most affordable either, especially for college students. For instance, there are only two breakfast options for students at BBC: Vicky’s and Starbucks. Food items, like the empanadas at Vicky’s, are nearly four dollars.
Another item, their Colombian pan de bono, is almost three dollars, in comparison to 7-Eleven that sells two for a dollar.
Although BBC has a smaller student population, the campus hosts lots of events that bring many visitors to campus. Apart from this, the campus not only serves the FIU community but also MAST Academy, Hillel and the Royal Caribbean.
Due to this, these locations often run out of food items. This leaves students resorting to ordering food or buying grab-and-go items from the bookstore.
As a student at BBC, it feels as if there isn’t much consideration for students on this campus.
At MMC, there are numerous places to eat, but there seems to be a push for more than it needs. Especially since every Tuesday various food trucks visit campus, adding more food options.
It’s important to support small businesses, but this is unnecessary for MMC and would be a better fit at BBC, considering Tuesdays are the busiest day of the week at BBC.
MMC also offers food stands throughout the campus for pretzels, empanadas, and Starbucks drinks, which could also be effective at BBC if implemented.
Apart from adding more food options, FIU should focus on their already established restaurants by extending hours and working on preventing them from continuously running out of food. BBC students, like MMC students, deserve to have affordable, diverse and reliable dining options.
DISCLAIMER:
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of the PantherNOW Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Be the first to comment on "BBC needs more food options"