The Zorn Dining Commons should be more health-conscious about what they serve daily.
The specials always seem to be healthy, but offering burgers, fries and grilled cheese every day allows the student body to put certain foods into their diet that should really just be a treat now and then.
As a health conscious individual, I often find I do not have many options when eating at the dining commons other than the Valley Vegan corner.
But just because I can choose to eat healthier at the Valley Vegan, does not mean all of my peers do too.
For many people, there is a stigma attached to the Valley Vegan that it is “the gross food that all the hippies eat.”
In reality, their food is often tastier and cooked better than the food from the main line.
I understand it is hard for people to try new foods and step out of their comfort zone, but maybe if the healthy options were not subject to one corner of the dining commons, then more people would pick it up.
I wonder if a food item from Valley Vegan were placed in the main line, would more people try it?
I’m not suggesting we get rid of Valley Vegan, because it does offer a feeling of safety to those who eat vegan, vegetarian and gluten free, but why aren’t there more choices for everyone else?
Valley Vegan offers a wide variety of different foods and I almost never notice a repeat in a week or even two weeks, with the exception of the sesame nuggets.
The main line seems to go through a cycle of the same foods of overcooked broccoli, quiche, pre-packaged eggs and dry meat.
I have noticed the brochures and other ways that the dining commons has tried to implement healthy eating at the DC, but it can be a bit hard to do so if there are not healthy foods to choose from.
Even when there are healthy foods to choose from, it is very hard to resist the burgers and fries when they are right in front of you.
It is also concerning to me that the burger and fry line is in the front and center of the DC.
The first things you see when you walk into the DC are desserts, pizza, burgers and fries.
Why are the salad line and Valley Vegan subject to the far corners of the DC?
If anything, the desserts should be in a far corner of the DC.
It may seem silly, but it really can have an impact in a person’s food choices for the day.
I would suggest less structure in each section of the DC and to instead incorporate more food groups to each.
For example, putting chopped vegetables next to the burgers and fries, or the pizza.
One pet peeve of mine is that the salad bar always has the shredded carrots and never chopped carrots or baby carrots.
While I don’t personally like shredded carrots on my salad, they would be a good addition to a burger.
This would be a simple way of integrating food groups.
It is also curious to me as to why all the vegetables the DC has to offer are always cooked, when raw vegetables actually offer you more nutrients.
The DC should experiment with different ways of cooking food, because there are certain cooking techniques that are healthier and more beneficial than others.
This is only an introduction to my insight on how the DC could make it easier for people to eat healthily, so you can see why a paper napkin suggestion wouldn’t exactly work.
Annie McCaffrey can be contacted at ann.mccaffrey@ksc.keene.edu