As far as I know, college students do not particularly enjoy dining hall food. That is not to say that there are no exceptions, but it seems that a general pattern exists when it comes to avoiding dining hall. And on the one hand, this is not a surprising phenomenon – cooking on such a large scale is difficult to do well, especially considering that the student body consuming the food is comprised of people with vastly differing tastes.
But for the amount of money students and their families pay, what they receive is pitiful.
Obviously, going to college is expensive, which is a problem in and of itself. But meal plans at UVa can cost up to more than $5,000 per year. For that amount of money, students should be able to expect healthy and varied options.
Instead, they have to deal with meat that is often undercooked, extremely limited options for vegan students (especially on weekends), and a plethora of foods cooked in excessive amounts of oil.
More personally, I have dealt with multiple instances of having an upset stomach as well as significant weight loss over my first semester. Although I have learned to navigate the dining halls and judge which foods suit me, my frustration has not subsided in the slightest. I despise having to make a decision every day between unhealthy foods that are fully cooked (fried?) and healthy foods that are either undercooked or too greasy for my digestive system to handle. I’ve wished so many times that my mom had cooked using more oil and didn’t make such healthy food, just so that I would have been better prepared for college.
The ringmaster of it all: Aramark. Having contracts with several prison systems across the country, the company is infamous for having served “rinsed” and “reheated” leftovers to inmates. To add to the bad situation, UVA and Aramark have renewed their contract until 2034. So until then, negotiation and resistance may be limited.
But we shouldn’t give up hope. The UVa Student Council recently created the Student Dining Advisory Board (SDAB) as an attempt to let more students’ voices be heard. Although much more needs to be done, this is at least a step in the right direction. As students, we can protest against Aramark by refusing to buy upperclassmen meal plans. This may be hard to do, and understandably so, because most college students rely on the convenience and proximity of dining halls. However, it is likely the most effective way to challenge Aramark’s reckless practices and unsatisfactory food. If temporary inconvenience is the price to pay for not feeling utterly helpless upon entering the dining hall, then so be it.
