Those of us who are at least sophomores have noticed a significant change in the quality and variety of food. At Downer, there are more vegetarian options and more – and tastier – ethnic food. However, in making significant changes to LU Dining Services, there are several aspects that are currently being undervalued and overlooked.
While Downer probably sees the largest number of students, Lucinda’s remains a favorite lunch place. Lucinda’s is thought by many to be better, largely because there is, in theory, only one entre option. Unfortunately, this is not being reflected in practice, nor is the main entre option always healthy or satisfying.
For example, a few weeks ago the entre was baked potatoes with “fixins.” If you are moderately conscious of the health value of foods, you might know that potatoes are a starchy tuber, low in vitamins. They are a “white” food, more worthy of being a side dish than an entre. If you are hungry, and it is lunchtime so you probably are, it seems like an okay choice. However, you shouldn’t have to settle for “okay.”
Furthermore, Lucinda’s is the reigning campus cookie champion with the best chocolate chip cookies on the face of the planet – anyone who wishes to challenge this should please submit samples. Lucinda’s strives to offer other yummy dessert choices, and succeeds. But a plethora of desserts is ultimately uneconomic, and unhealthy. The more choices, the more likely you are to find something that you like, and the more likely you are to eat dessert. The fewer choices per day, the more likely you are to skip on over to the apples, or skip on out. LU might think about the economic benefits: make one dessert, or at the most make less of two different desserts, save money. Furthermore, money currently spent on desserts would be better spent on a wider variety of healthy entrees.
Fruit, also a dessert option, is not adequately addressed at this school. Anyone with any desire to stay healthy, especially during these vitamin- and exercise-deprived winter months, should eat more fruit every day. Currently, we see apples in Downer and Lucy’s. Apples are not in season, and fruits and vegetables which are eaten out of season, unless fresh-frozen or canned, lacks most of its health value. LU should be investing in and serving more seasonal fruit – oranges, for example.
Finally, while some positive changes have been made in dining services, the grill has been significantly ignored, perhaps even changed for the worse. We have seen new shelves of full-sized chip bags, but the “lighter options” board is gone. Is there a way to remedy this? There must be.
We eat at these institutions daily, we pay for them, and for many Lawrentians our dining services are the only source of food. Health value of food is something that most certainly cannot be overlooked. This is an issue of making healthy choices to maintain healthy bodies, whatever weight or size they might be. These, our early adult years, are formative: We must learn how to become healthy by eating healthily, and, of course, by exercising, if we wish to remain healthy.
Staff Editorial
