5 Things to Know About On-Campus Dining for Incoming Freshmen
As many college upper-classmen are likely to tell you, eating in college is a whole lot different than eating in high school. Unlike most high school students, college students don’t have the luxury of having parents cook for them or always having a pantry filled with snacks and drinks. When it comes to college, students now have to make more choices about where, when, and what time to eat. However, with more choices comes more responsibility. Here are the top four things to know about on-campus dining that all freshmen should know.
1.You’ll have a lot of options
Being on a college campus is a lot different from a high school campus. As opposed to having one cafeteria to eat from or having dinner at your house every night, college students have a ton of options to eat at on campus whether that be a one of the university’s dining halls or a restaurant on campus. Its easy to get overwhelmed and want to eat Chick-Fil-A every day, but it is important to keep many things in mind while dining on campus. From making sure you eat somewhat healthy to keeping track of your finances and dining dollars/flexbucks, (as many college campuses will have some program like this), eating will become a new priority that you probably have never had to worry about before.
2. …But not really
A college campus may have a lot of different restaurants to eat at but still many of these will be fast food. In reality, most all of the restaurants on or near a college campus will be fast food establishments. In fact, a study done by Jennifer Pelletier and Melissa N. Laska of the University of Minnesota found that frequent food purchasing around the college campuses they studied was associated with less frequent breakfast consumption and higher fat and added sugar intake. It is important that incoming freshmen realize this so they can learn to balance out what they eat. It is still important as it was in high school to eat a healthy diet, but now all of the decisions are yours. It is important to balance eating at fast food restaurants on or near your campus for the sake of your health, but also the health of your wallet. https://experts.umn.edu/en/ publications/campus-food-and-beverage-purchases-are-associated-with-indicators
3. Take advantage of the meal plan
This fact cannot be stated enough. Take advantage of your meal plan, Take advantage of your meal plan, Take advantage of your meal plan! If you’ve already payed
for a meal plan, the food at your dining halls is essentially already payed for to. Why wouldn’t you eat something you already payed for. Eating at the dining halls and using your meal plan is a great wait to save money in college, especially if you already bought one. Eating out or eating at the fast food places on campus can hurt your wallet and also your waist line.
4. Freshmen 15 does exist
Just ask your dad, mom, or any of you relatives. The freshmen 15 is real. Between the fast food, decreased activity due to studies, and eating at abnormal times (sorry to break it to you but you might have a class during lunch time) it is easy for a college student to put on weight if they do not know what they are doing. It is important to stay active and learn what times are easiest for you to exercise and eat. Eating in college is a balancing act between eating healthy and keeping your finances healthy and as soon as you learn the easiest way to balance this, the easier college will be.
5. You have a voice
Like I’ve already said many times, this is not high school anymore. You are paying to be at the college or university you are attending. You’re paying for the resources being given to you. If an eating establishment on campus asks you to rate or evaluate them online or in some other form, do it. It’s your college experience use your voice to make it the best it can be. Brittany Chu, a former student at UCLA used the school’s newspaper to pitch the idea of having a food cooperative run by students and including fresh fruits and vegetables. Things don’t happen at a college or university unless students want it to happen. Use your voice.
Images (in order of appearance):
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fast_food_meal.jpg
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/2812488036
https://www.army.mil/article/127085/post_retirement_weight_gain_fact_or_fiction
