Keene State College students are fighting the urges that make up the many temptations of dining hall cravings.
The Zorn Dining Commons (DC) at KSC provides students and others with an all-you-can-eat style cafeteria, including a plethora of food selections. This wide range of food goes from cakes, cookies and ice cream, to pizzas, salads and stir fries. The DC also has vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Sodexo, the sole supplier for the dining commons, makes it their responsibility to provide students with a wide variety of nutritious possibilities. Sodexo wrote in their health section on the KSC dining hall page, “From recipes that include the most nutritious mix of ingredients to offering educational resources for positive lifestyle habits, healthy options are the result of a team dedicated to advancing the well-being of the entire campus community.”
Other eateries on campus include Lloyd’s Marketplace, Hoot ‘n’ Scoot and the Bean & Bagel Express. These restaurants sell sandwiches, wraps, pizza, burgers, salad, fries and more.
These are quick options for students on the go, but unhealthy, greasy and fried choices make up a large portion of their menus.
Meghan Marcucci/ Equinox Staff
First-year student Molly Fabrizio said she finds it hard to make healthy choices while dining on campus, especially at Lloyd’s.
“There are so many good things at Lloyd’s, like their wraps and sandwiches,” Fabrizio said.
When there’s the option to eat a salad or as much pizza as possible, it can be difficult to decide, but several KSC students said they can resist the temptations.
Senior Marta Morris said she always tries to eat healthy at the DC throughout the year.
“There are a lot of possibilities and a lot of great options at the DC compared to other schools. I usually eat salad or yogurt,” Morris said.
Students like senior Katelyn Franco enjoy the many options the DC has to offer.
Franco said our dining hall helps guide her to eating healthy by providing her precise descriptions of the meals being offered each day.
These descriptions let students know which choices are vegetarian, vegan and mindful and what ingredients are in them.
Many first-year students said they are avoiding the “freshman 15” and adjusting to college dining well by eating healthy. First-year student Erica Flanagan said she typically eats salads at the DC in an effort to keep a healthy diet throughout the year. “I’ll eat salad, soup or really anything that looks healthy,” Flanagan said.
Some students, however, find that it isn’t so easy to forebear.
First-year student Ryan Tatara usually eats at the Dining Commons and typically gets pizza and burgers. He said although these are his current eating habits, as the flu season approaches he will make an effort to eat healthier to keep himself well.
Other KSC students, such as first-year student Alec Masone, also said that the winter weather will change their eating habits. Masone said that once it starts getting cold outside his dining hall visits will become less frequent.
Masone said, “I try to only get salad [at] the DC but sometimes I can’t resist, it really depends on the day.”
Having trouble finding something at the dining hall that is both delicious and healthy? Be daring by mixing it up and creating something yourself.
The Center for Young Women’s Health gives this advice to students on their website, “Be creative. If you don’t like the hot food offered, try to combine foods from different areas of the dining hall. For example, add a grilled chicken breast to a salad or veggies from the salad bar to a sandwich or a wrap.”
Alex Enayat can be contacted at aenayat@kscequinox.com
