Food

[Just Another Jen]

I'm hoping someone can point us in the right direction as to who we should contact at the university. My son is a vegetarian. When we were choosing the meal plan we chose the unlimited buffet because they had listed quite a lot of good sounding choices. Now, after a few weeks he is eating more and more off campus which is frustrating to me and not in our budget. Apparently, for lunch and dinner the options for him are cheese pizza and salad- every day. They also offer him bread. He is going to complain and called me to ask where he should start. I'm thinking the housing and dining dept? I told him to look around for a manager in the dining hall and talk with that person.

 

Any other ideas out there?

[Just Another Jen]

He has gone to all the buffets and even though they have the options listed on the board they are always out. Yesterday he saw veggie dogs listed at the grill and the guy working there told him that they have "never" stocked them- sorry.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Are there no vegetarian side dishes like vegetable sides? Vegetable pizza?

 

I agree with contacting the food manager. Also look for comment cards and comment every time a listed item is out. And he might ask his friends to also ask for vegetarian meals once a week to increase the demand signal.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

It would be worth his going in with a list of suggestions. Does he want veg protein substitutes? Rice and veg stir fry? Rice and beans? Veg casseroles like lasagne?

[Teachin'Mine]

I would also suggest that he keep his receipts from the food he buys.  They need to either provide him with enough vegetarian food and variety, or they need to refund what's been paid for the food plan.   Listing food on the menu that they don't even have, and never have had, is terrible!  

 

Your son might want to print out a copy of this, especially what's written about vegetarian options under Student Author Reviews.

 

https://colleges.niche.com/northern-illinois-university/campus-food/

 

If your son can connect with other vegetarians, their voices might be heard more clearly as a group.  He can look for a vegetarian or vegan club as a place to start.  They need to speak up and be heard!

[Barbara H]

I suggest he try to set up a meeting with dining services. It depends on the school what the person's job title might be - executive chef, some have registered dietician's on staff with dining services.

[Just Another Jen]

I would also suggest that he keep his receipts from the food he buys.  They need to either provide him with enough vegetarian food and variety, or they need to refund what's been paid for the food plan.   Listing food on the menu that they don't even have, and never have had, is terrible!  

 

Your son might want to print out a copy of this, especially what's written about vegetarian options under Student Author Reviews.

 

https://colleges.niche.com/northern-illinois-university/campus-food/

 

If your son can connect with other vegetarians, their voices might be heard more clearly as a group.  He can look for a vegetarian or vegan club as a place to start.  They need to speak up and be heard!

 

 

Thanks! I had to laugh because the number 1 choice was to eat at New Hall where he lives. When he comes home this weekend we are going to hatch a plan of attack. Since his meal plan costs $1000 a semester I would like him to be fed well. Last night at dinner he asked for a boca burger and was given one. His friend asked for a hamburger and was given a patty that looked identical and was taken out of the same cooker. So either his veggie burger was cooked alongside meat, or they were both meat, or the employee didn't hear or understand the boca part. Sigh. 

[Teachin'Mine]

Thanks! I had to laugh because the number 1 choice was to eat at New Hall where he lives. When he comes home this weekend we are going to hatch a plan of attack. Since his meal plan costs $1000 a semester I would like him to be fed well. Last night at dinner he asked for a boca burger and was given one. His friend asked for a hamburger and was given a patty that looked identical and was taken out of the same cooker. So either his veggie burger was cooked alongside meat, or they were both meat, or the employee didn't hear or understand the boca part. Sigh. 

 

My guess is he's not 100% veggie after last night's dinner.  :svengo:

 

Do they have a dining plan which minimizes the dining halls and gives them some money to use toward the other dining options?   These are sometimes called dining bucks or something like that.  That might give him better flexibility.   It sounds like he can't opt out of a dining plan while living on campus, but they have to know that you can't pay for a plan which won't feed him either!  If there's no vegetarian club, I'd strongly urge him to start one.  Many of them who are upperclassmen may have already moved off campus to get out of the dining.  Hatch away as college kids need food!

 

There is a group on campus.  Here's the link with some people he can contact to see what he should do and what's been tried already.

http://www.sa.niu.edu/veg.html    I'm surprised that there's a group and they haven't been able to add more options to the menus.  If going to the powers that be doesn't get results, it might be time for petitions, peaceful protests, etc.   Talk about leadership opportunities!

[Rebel Yell]

Thanks! I had to laugh because the number 1 choice was to eat at New Hall where he lives. When he comes home this weekend we are going to hatch a plan of attack. Since his meal plan costs $1000 a semester I would like him to be fed well. Last night at dinner he asked for a boca burger and was given one. His friend asked for a hamburger and was given a patty that looked identical and was taken out of the same cooker. So either his veggie burger was cooked alongside meat, or they were both meat, or the employee didn't hear or understand the boca part. Sigh. 

 

It is entirely possible the cook had no idea what a Boca Burger was. Or he may have only heard "burger."  We are not vegetarian, but I do occasionally serve Boca Burgers. After a few YEARS, my high schooler asked "What is a Boca?" She had no idea she was eating a veggie burger.  :huh:  She just thught it was a brand name, like a Big Mac. And MANY MANY people are uneducated about vegetarianism- thinking they just don't eat red meat, or want extra veggies with their meat, or think fish isn't meat (often related to the understanding that some Catholics eat fish on Fridays during Lent), or... who knows- there is such a huge variety among vegetarians, I understand the confusion. And most people have no idea what's in their food.

 

I hope your son finds a good option.

 

[Annie G]

Dd has a couple of vegetarian friends who go there and they say the lunch offerings are always better than dinner. Evidently at lunchtime there's always a vegetarian 'main dish' like a quiche or something that they can eat, and they round that out with veggies.  They eat a heavier lunch and a lighter dinner. But they're girls...boys probably want to eat more all the time. 

 

A quick look at their weekly menus does appear to show a good many vegan and vegetarian options.  If he's finding most of those are unavailable, he should surely speak up- meal plans are expensive enough without having to also pay for him to eat off campus!

 

[Caroline]

Wow! That's an inexpensive meal plan.

 

Thanks! I had to laugh because the number 1 choice was to eat at New Hall where he lives. When he comes home this weekend we are going to hatch a plan of attack. Since his meal plan costs $1000 a semester I would like him to be fed well. Last night at dinner he asked for a boca burger and was given one. His friend asked for a hamburger and was given a patty that looked identical and was taken out of the same cooker. So either his veggie burger was cooked alongside meat, or they were both meat, or the employee didn't hear or understand the boca part. Sigh.

[Just Another Jen]

This kid is a bottomless pit. 6 foot 4 and 140 pounds and nothing sticks to him.  I was actually hoping with unlimited food he would gain weight at school. I sent him a couple emails about it today so we'll see if I get a response. Otherwise I'll chat again with him this weekend. He blew through a whole months worth of spending money in 10 days- mostly at chipotle.   

[jenn-]

What were his eating habits at home?  Did he eat a lot of meat substitute items?  I would expect a college to have a veggie burger on the grill, but that would be about it in the meat substitute department.  Could he just not know what is safe to eat and what is not?  Assuming he is going to the college linked above, here is a menu for this week for the New Hall http://www.niu.edu/housing/dining/venues_menus/new_hall_weekly_menu1.shtml  .  Maybe printing off a color coded sheet for a couple of weeks would help.  That way he will know what he can eat.  Surely they are not completely out of every vegetable that they supposedly have on the menu.  They had a menu just like this for each one of the dining halls that appears to change weekly.

[Just Another Jen]

According to him, the stuff is on the menu and on the menu board, but when you order it they don't have any. I am going to assume a couple things-

1. He might just want to eat Chipotle

2. He is such a slow moving slug that by the time he gets to the dining hall all the veggie options are gone.

3. He is so busy being social that he isn't actually walking around looking at all that is available.

 

I just figured since he complained to me I would find out how "he" could handle the situation.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

[jenn-]

According to him, the stuff is on the menu and on the menu board, but when you order it they don't have any. I am going to assume a couple things-

1. He might just want to eat Chipotle

2. He is such a slow moving slug that by the time he gets to the dining hall all the veggie options are gone.

3. He is so busy being social that he isn't actually walking around looking at all that is available.

 

I just figured since he complained to me I would find out how "he" could handle the situation.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

This is probably the issue.  His buddies are headed to the burger and pizza counter and he follows.  How comfortable is he in his vegetarianism?  Do you think he would feel weird and singled out if he pulls up to the table with a plate full of carrots, quiche, green beans, etc?

[Bootsie]

It is not unusual for a a student who is away at college for the first time to go through a month's worth of spending money in 10 days!  It is also amazing how quickly they can learn.  At parent orientation at my DDs campus, they said that they get more questions from parents about food than other topics (academics, medical care, etc.)  They said that most 18-year olds can figure out how to feed themselves and that hunger is actually a great motivating factor.  You may find that as he has run out of money to go to Chipotle daily he will realize that there are additional options in the cafeteria.   

[flyingiguana]

Yeah, well, he can come for the lunch menu options at our house.  My daughter (just starting college) is discovering she has no idea how to pack a lunch.  So it's been lentils, yogurt, and cheese and veggies every single day.  She doesn't have time to figure anything else out.  And no time during the day to buy anything.

 

She still prefers that over the college cafeteria, though.  Even with all their options.  And she's not even vegetarian.  That just seems an easier way to eat most days (easier to cook and pack and more resistant of food poisoning.  we hope.)