College Cafeteria Food
During orientation, the one pleasing thing about my college was the cafeteria. It wasn’t a bad college, the weather was just ridiculously hot, and everything annoyed me. The cafeteria at my college, University of Texas, was amazing. It had booths, and different floors. The restaurant offered lots of privacy for a person like me who likes to “pig out” when I eat. Things aren’t always what they seem. In retrospect, I gag at having to eat in such a place.
What Interested Me
I now see that the college cafeteria seemed so stunning because I was comparing it to the high school cafeteria. My high school gave you a pick of pizza, chicken, Frito pies, or a daily special. The campus offered subway like sandwiches, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, daily specials, fruit bars, salad bar, desserts, ice cream bar, pizza, and would some divisions would make your personal request. The icing on the cake was that everything was free. It was on a government paid meal plan, and you can’t beat free. I would soon find out that the cons of the cafeteria are those one would never encounter at a high school.
First Week Impression
My first week at the cafeteria was great. I especially loved the breakfasts. Eggs, bacon, potatoes, and biscuits were served everyday. I would pick up pizza for lunch and a sandwich for dinner. I was ok the first week, and still amazed at how free everything was.
Going Broke
The menu was monotonous, and no one fancies eatting the same thing everyday. After orientation, the food selection seemed to shrink. I felt as if the campus put on a great façade to trick students. They never stood by the listed menu, which was diverse and listed nutritional facts. So, students didn’t know what they were eating and how unhealthy it was. The food always seemed so greasy. It seemed as if the campus didn’t care about the student’s health. The food was also surprisingly bland. I even changed my meal plan because the dinners were so nasty. Their desserts were worthless. Everything tasted like air or bitter.
The campus had a store, but the store just sold food from the cafeteria or plaza. The prices were high. I remember buying a sub sandwich with a quarter of the meat you’d find on a Subway sandwich. I was basically eating bread. I then began eating off campus a lot more. Unfortunately, most of the stores surrounding the campus had partnered with the school our campus card (like a credit card.) Their prices were marked the same as a store on school. My small work study job didn’t pay much, less than $100 a week. Before I knew it, I was penniless in a new city. Naturally, I didn’t go begging my mom for money. College is supposed to be about independence. I was fending for myself hard.
Getting Sick
After going broke, I was forced to eat at the cafeteria again. Every time I ate at the cafeteria I was terribly sick. I couldn’t walk. I had to lie on my bed, lost sleep, and I missed more than a few classes because of this. I began to speculate if the campus was poisoning the students. I still get sick every now and then. I just pray that it isn’t poison, because I can’t afford to buy my own food and go home for Christmas.
Unsanitary
It is hard to see how unsanitary a place is immediately. It has recently come to my attention that the cafeteria was about as clean as a Burger King restroom.
Flies are one of the biggest problems this cafeteria has. There are flies everywhere, and it doesn’t seem as if the cafeteria is doing anything to fight them off. Flies decorate the milk fountain nozzles, the live at the dessert bar which is the same place as the breakfast treats are laid such as donuts, scones, and muffins. No one wants to eat a muffin that a fly has been on. They sit the breakfast bar down at 7 am, although things don’t get busy until 8:30.
Their food is usually stale. They don’t like to waste food obviously. If they sit a pizza out and no one is eating it, then it will stay there until someone eats it. It doesn’t matter how stale or how many flies or people touched it. Meal plans aren’t cheap; the least they could do is provide fresher foods. I grieve for the person who paid for the meal plan with personal cash. Yet, that is not the biggest problem.
The biggest problem is the staff. On many occasions I have received rude service. This surprised me because in a regular restaurant, a person would get fired. I shouldn’t have to worry about staff attitude when I’m going to lunch. The absolute worst thing about the staff is cell phones. Workers are often on their cell phones. In one instance, I was having a sandwich made and the worker stopped to check their cell phone. They didn’t wash their hands afterwards, and it completely turned my stomach. They make the workers wear gloves, but what good is that if the worker is checking their phones with gloves on?
Now
I’ve gained 5-7 pounds from the cafeteria. So although my meal plan allows me to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the cafeteria I usually do not. I eat half of their breakfast (since even the eggs are soaked in grease), a salad or sandwich for lunch from a store and cereal for dinner. I’m trying to undo what the lousy campus food has done to my body. I have learned that just because something is free doesn’t mean I should accept it. With the sickness, grease, bland tastes I am not planning on buying another meal plan.
