I can’t say I love the dining halls at William and Mary, but I don’t hate them either. They just exist and I eat their food, and because of their existence I exist. I live off-campus this year, but I still bought 250 meals for the year. My main motivation behind buying a meal plan that wasn’t required were the facts that I hate cooking and the meal plan came with a lot of dining dollars.

You save money by buying your own meals when you live off-campus, but at the cost of time and convenience. With classes across campus, I have to walk fifteen minutes to get home, then prepare the food, eat it, and clean up. The time I would waste walking back and forth in between classes would make my stress level exceed my hunger level.

Part of my aversion for mass-produced food comes from my work experience at a camp during weekend retreats. Seeing the eggs being stirred by an oar-sized spatula in a bathroom-like contraption made me sick. When I would go as a camper I ate the eggs knowing where they had been, which was both comforting and horrifying.

When I decided to go to William and Mary I got asked, “How is the food there?” To which I would respond, “Edible.” I was proud that I was not going to a school like Virginia Tech or James Madison University solely because their food consistently gets rated best in the country. I thought not having nationally acclaimed dining hall food would prevent me from getting the Freshman 15. I quickly found out this was a lie, but it was bound to happen to me anyway.

My feelings toward the dining hall also come from their sustainability initiative. Last year there was an option to use the free “Choose to Reuse” green containers that reduce waste because they are plastic and can be washed instead of thrown away after one use. This year the containers are $5 for students, and it’s mandatory in order to get a meal to go. I don’t think students should be required to pay to be a part of the sustainability initiative, and because they are $5 I have to make sure I have one if there is a chance I will get a meal to go, or I have to pay $5 for a new one.

I appreciate everything the workers at Sodexo do every day to make sure people get meals anytime they want. I know it’s hard to mass produce food and make sure there are ample options daily, but I still don’t love the food. However, I don’t feel the need to sign any petitions against Sodexo or post pictures of a moldy piece of bread that I received at Sadler. It’s impossible for the workers to scrutinize every piece of food that touches our plate, and although the insults are usually directed at the food provider, the comments reflect on the workers who go in every day making our food and cleaning our dishes.

My love-hate relationship with the food in the dining halls makes me appreciate home more. Living in Richmond, Virginia I have every restaurant at my disposal when I go home, and because they are a treat I don’t get tired of them. The home-cooked meals I used to roll my eyes at are now delicacies, which makes my mom happy. I’m not ready to cook five-course meals for myself, so I will stick with the dining hall food as my main source of nutrition.