As I sat down at a table with my first plate of food in college, I grabbed my phone out to send a picture of the meal to my friends. “How much was it?” asked my friend Wendy. I could not answer that with a simple price in mind. That’s because the meal plan system at Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham, Washington is different from most colleges. “All-You-Care-To-Eat dining.” This allows students to eat as much as desired in every sitting at the dining hall, just like a buffet restaurant. There is a variety of plans students can choose, from 75 meals per quarter to unlimited. A “meal” does not necessarily mean one plate of food, but that you entered the dining hall. For example, I have signed up with 125 meals per quarter, allowing me to eat at the dining hall 125 times during the quarter. Individuals are welcome to have unlimited access inside the cafeteria as long as the number of meals they have allows them. But is the food and service provided for college students like myself sufficient?
If you have been strolling around the North side of WWU’s campus, there is a great chance that you are familiar with the Viking Commons. This is one of three dining halls at WWU that serves food to college students from residence halls primarily on North Campus. The Viking Commons at WWU offer plenty of variety. Gluten-free and vegetarian are among the categories offered. This is satisfactory to those who limit their diets. A fruit and salad bar is provided, which is a great option for those looking to get a daily serving of fruits and vegetables. As for beverages, they are provided from a fountain, along with the interesting choice of fruit-infused water from a dispenser. The choices for drinks are adequate. Milk, soda, juice, and water are among the options students have. In addition, tea and coffee is provided. Since individuals do not have any limit to how much and what they want to drink, having more than one glass of chocolate milk, for example, is possible. As with all buffets, there is a dessert section. It is easy over-consume with this part because of the soft-serve ice cream machine, cookies, brownies, and etc. Although not exactly nutritious, people with a sweet tooth are sure to be satisfied with the unlimited selection of dessert.
It seems ironic that the phrase “Freshman fifteen” (the notorious weight gain of fifteen pounds during freshman year of college) is being thrown around universally for first year students like myself and Western has an all-you-can-eat dining hall. But the visually appealing colored plates seem to be a reasonable size for a buffet style dining hall. They are big enough to fit multiple dishes on it, which is great for those who want to try a bit of everything. Even though it is buffet style, you are not allowed to serve it yourself which is a disadvantage to those who favor smaller portions or even larger than the usual. But most of the time, the servers are generous enough to provide a large amount of food on your plate. I found that one plate of food always satisfies me, but perhaps others may disagree, which is why not having limits is wonderful.
Just like a buffet restaurant, it would be incomplete without service. Helpful signs separate the food lines, such as “Comfort”, “International”, “Grill”, and etc. Even though the lines may be long at times, the servers all work efficiently to get through them. Additional guidance is provided by the dining hall workers by providing signs in front of the dishes with their name and description. A beneficial aspect of these signs is that there is also calorie information for those who need it. Once obtaining a plate of food, there is plenty of silverware available to use, which follows the style of a buffet. The dining hall employees regularly make rounds to clean tables and stations so that the eating experience will be pleasant.
Even though the food can be repetitive at times, the Viking Commons is not bad for a buffet style dining hall. For being mass produced, the food itself is certainly an upgrade from high school cafeterias and beats having Cup Noodles in your dorm. The buffet style gives a great opportunity for all students to satisfy their hunger with all the different variety of foods. In order to take full advantage of the buffet style a college dining hall may offer, it is best to go when you are extremely hungry. Having the freedom to choose how much you want to consume into your stomach without worrying about the price of each dish is probably the best thing a school can give you. Perhaps all colleges should consider this dining system.
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