I rushed into the Grille, hoping to get the last of the pasta before it ran out…but I didn’t make it in time; and I met a blank tray, while my stomach growled. The Grille has a lot of food, but there isn’t a lot of variety for students who have food allergies or people who can’t eat meat.
Currently, there are about 7.3 million vegetarians and about 15 million people with food allergies in America.
Since more vegetarians and people with food allergies seek balanced meals, we should think about serving them too.
The Grille has many meat-based products which cannot accommodate vegetarians and people with food allergies. There should also be a balance between healthy and unhealthy food served.
The newly added Saint-Sub station mainly serves meat items and therefore is not usually an option for vegetarians and vegans. They have different choices such as meatball subs, turkey, ham, and more, but not enough vegetarian choices such as a veggie or soybean patties.
When the Grille serves tacos, it should have a choice of vegetarian beans instead of just serving beef or a different meat item.
“I think there’s a decent amount of food sometimes, but a lot of times they run out of vegetarian food, and the only other thing left for me to eat is salad,” freshman Zoe Myers-Bochner said.
Most mornings, I don’t have enough time to pack a quick lunch and snack for the day, and I can’t always find something to eat at school. It would really help if there were a good amount of choices such as pastas or sandwiches everyday for people with food restrictions.
“Outside of school, there is a lot of variety especially products with tofu or soy bean which substitutes for a lot of meat-based items. However, at the Grille there is a lack because they don’t serve items with such substitutes,” junior Jyoti Moorjani said.
For vegans, there could be soy substitutes such as soymilk. If the Grille is serving burgers, it can have soybean patties instead of meat.
Emphasizing the unhealthy foods in the Grille, everyday fries, fried chicken, and ice cream are always options.
Along with these foods, a choice of grilled cheese or different soups could be served daily.
Foods similar to these are healthier and would serve people with food limitations as well.
Having frozen yogurt could also be a healthy option to add to the Grille. Not only is it a popular snack for everyone, but it is also a much healthier alternative to ice cream.
The Grille could also add different yogurt options for people with food allergens such as lactose-free yogurt.
This will promote healthy eating as well as give students an enjoyable snack.
Another healthy addition can be whole-wheat pasta instead of white pasta, or pizza made with whole-wheat bread instead of ordering it from other places.
For beverages, if you compare the ratio of sodas to natural fruit juices, sodas greatly outnumber juices.
The Grille also sells many energy drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade, which contain a lot of sugar.
The Grille could add a variety of fruit juices because they contain more nutrients than soda or energy drinks. This will help keep a balance between healthy and nonhealthy beverages.
Luckily, the Grille is open to suggestions and often adjusts to change.
“In one area that was added this year, there is a Saint buffet everyday where you can have many components of food for just a dollar extra. There will also be a menu board displaying different specials and offers,” Food Service Manager Greg Himes said.
A communication board is available next to the salad bar where you can request certain foods and options.
If students use this resource, it can help bring more diversity to Grille food.
“We need to get requests for changes in food. If somebody was looking for something specific, I would encourage students to request foods on the board. If we know about it, we can address it,” Himes said.
In order to resolve the problem with food variety, we need to request foods that will meet our needs. The only way we can get what we are looking for is by taking Himes’s advice to speak up. This will surely help students who need more dietary options.
