Food for Thought.

A recent Facebook post got me thinking about food on college campuses. Who am I kidding… I am almost always thinking about food….and I do work on a college campus… so the consideration of food on campus should hardly come as a surprise. In any case, my friend's Facebook post linked me to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)’s ‘Most Vegan Friendly College’ competition. Now before you start asking yourself where I am going with this, and what this has to do with access and the cost of higher education, let me explain.

Food matters. What we eat on a daily basis impacts not only our energy level and health, but also our mindset and overall emotional wellbeing too. Anyone who has ever gone hungry, or who has ever enjoyed a delicious homemade meal for that matter can attest to this. Food matters in other ways too, and the way in which it matters varies among different individuals and groups. What you eat (and do not, or can not eat), based on your health, allergen tolerance, religious and/or spiritual beliefs, and personal values has a daily impact. For college students who reside on-campus, this means that food choices and institutional choices are closely related. Residential colleges and universities are almost uniformly united in their mandates related to meal plans. You would be hard pressed to find a residential campus that does not require residents to purchase at least some form of a college meal plan.

So what is a student, or potential student, to do when his or her food choices conflict with the offerings of a particular institution? Who is responsible for finding a fix? What types of fixes are appropriate and just, and do the answers to these questions differ based on the rationale of the student’s dietary needs?

In the case of food allergies, students may be eligible for accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Colleges are addressing food allergies through measures ranging from allergen-containing food signage in the dining halls to full fledged dining areas that are restricted ‘allergy-free’ zones with carefully prepared ‘safe’ foods only. We have probably all heard of K-12 schools that are banning peanuts and other common allergens, and although I’ve yet to hear of a college with a full fledged ban, certainly some institutions are addressing the needs of allergic students with much vigor. This is not surprising, given the increase in serious food allergies within the population. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), over 10 million Americans are allergic to peanuts, treenuts, or seafood (which tend to be the most serious types of food allergies). Support resources for allergic college students are available (check out the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network's College Network). In my time browsing through many dining services websites, I’ve seen that in most cases, and in itty bitty font, the institution may offer to exempt students from a meal plan requirement with a documented food allergy. Most add extra emphasis to the rarity of such an exemption with additional clauses such as, “This is the only circumstance in which exemption from the board plan will be considered.”

So a student with a life-threatening allergy may have an ‘out’ from a required meal plan, but what about students with dietary restrictions due to religious beliefs? Religious dietary restrictions are diverse, but for now, let us focus on the student who keeps strict kosher. A few institutions offer “Kosher Kitchens” which work with the required meal plan, but these are rare (none in Colorado). So what’s a Jew to do? The UNC dietary services website states: “as over 6,000 students are served per day, individual meal requests can be considered only with documentation from a physician.” Since freshmen at UNC are required to live on campus, and since a meal plan is an absolute requirement of freshmen living on campus (exception being a documented medical condition), this is problematic. Maybe the student sustains herself with instant matzo ball soup in her residence hall room, but this is hardly a nutritiously sound way to start college. Furthermore, the cost of a meal plan is significant. At UNC, the least expensive option available for first year students is $ 2,490/semester. Do you see now why this is relevant for a blog about Access and the Cost of Higher Education?

Lastly, let us consider the passionate animal rights activist student. For many, personal values around compassion and the humane treatment of animals are all-encompassing. Sure, it is about the food that they eat, but beyond this, it is about how they value animals, particularly in relation to humans. The clichéd animal rights mantra, “Meat is Murder” rings true for many. Perhaps due to the increased popularity of animal-free choices in the college demographic, institutions have taken immense strides to offer vegan and vegetarian dining options for students. In fact, just this fall, the University of North Texas opened an entirely vegan cafeteria (the first of its kind in the country). But given that this is not yet the norm, and given that vegan or vegetarian students, like kosher students, are unlikely to be given an exemption from a required meal plan, they too encounter a dilemma. They can choose to enjoy limited vegan options while dining amidst dead animal carcasses and their perceived murderous meat-eating peers, or sustain themselves on seitan jerky and nutritional yeast flakes in the relative safety of their residence hall room while their $2,000+ meal plan goes to waste.

Granted, none of the dietary restrictions that I have discussed here are new issues. However, there has been an increase in food allergies and vegetarians in the American population in recent years (not connected… at least I don’t think so…) and perhaps the globalization of higher education and efforts to diversify enrollment has led to more specialized dietary needs related to religion. Beyond the presumed increased need however, is the issue of student tolerance and satisfaction. Michelle’s recent post on student satisfaction trends in the last 15 years is interesting to consider related to dining services. Although not explicitly addressed in the Noel-Levitz report, the campus climate items related to staff care and concern for student well being are quite relevant for this discussing of dining on campus. Do you think that the vegan who is wasting thousands of dollars a year after being denied a meal-plan exemption feels care and concern from the staff at the institution? Furthermore, Noel-Levitz’s earlier report linking student satisfaction to retention is telling. Not surprisingly, satisfaction matters when it comes to the retention, and in turn, graduation of students. To quote directly from the report’s findings,

“The scale that was significantly predictive across all class levels was Campus Climate, comprised of items such as Most students feel a sense of belonging here, I feel a sense of pride about my campus, It is an enjoyable experience to be a student on this campus, Students are made to feel welcome on this campus, and I generally know what’s happening on campus. Higher scores on this scale increased a student’s odds of persisting by as much as 80 percent. Comparing this factor across the four class levels, its greatest predictive ability was among first-year students. Clearly an important part of starting students off right is to help them feel at home on campus. Students who feel welcome, know what’s happening on campus, and feel that they belong are more likely to return the following year.” (p. 3)

Maybe 15 years ago students would have begrudgingly dealt with a meal plan that was of little to no use to them, but today’s students are unlikely to tolerate this. As dietary needs continue to diversity and intensify, colleges and universities will need to creatively address these needs in order to satisfy students—both literally and figuratively.

Oh, and by the way, UNC is actually in the running for PETA’s Most Vegan-Friendly College. I’ve never eaten on campus, but if you enjoy their BBQ tofu, cast your vote here.

Personal Note: I am a vegetarian who has dabbled in veganism and was raised in a strict kosher household; so much of this is personally relevant for me. I want to clarify that my intention in writing this was not to offend anyone for their dietary choices, or any dining services staff we may have in the class. I do not actually think that meat is murder. I just think that it is gross and choose not to consume it. Seitan (which is wheat gluten formed into faux meat) jerky is actually really good….