The Runner Staff
Food on campus can be a tough bit to swallow, but students can find many similar, healthier options not far from campus. Even the things that aren’t too healthy are just a stones throw away.
But recently, students’ opinions about food on campus has been less than favorable, and some have felt that there are no other options but what is already here.
Thinking outside the Runner Café might just be the answer and students just need to take a little time to find the food choices that they are seeking.
The Runner Café, Peet’s Coffee, the small coffee shop in the library, The Runner Bookstore, and Rowdy’s Place in the Student Union all offer food and drinks for students.
They all offer roughly the same items with the Runner Café offering the most diverse choices. The same food service provider, Aramark, runs them all — except the book store food options.
Students are left to find where to save a few cents here and there.
Everything run and supplied by Aramark is a certain price point. However, students often find themselves eating entire meals out of vending machines to try and save a few cents over another location. The bookstore offers at least thirty cents cheaper on bottled soda and water products, and the vending machines are always cheaper than what is offered at the Runner Café location and its satellite areas — Peet’s Coffee, Rowdy’s or the library.
We need to forget the “ultimate in convenience factor” and look a little further for our food needs. We are college students, get inventive.
Located less than a block away, across the street of Camino Media, are grocery stores with much the same food and better prices. Vons offers premade deli sandwiches, a variety of which sell from $3.99 to $5.99 in The Runner Café, are much larger and the same price. Vons offers “day-old” sandwiches that are half-off.
Still, in The Marketplace off Camino Media, there are a bevy of options to choose from. Carl’s Jr. is cheap, with menu items ranging from 99 cents to $8 meals, and an option that might be more affordable for college students. The Runner Café has burgers and chicken strips and plenty of the same fare.
However, the prices simply don’t match up. The cheapest item at Rowdy’s is $4.99.
North of Stockdale Highway, just across the parking lot K students can find even more options that rival the prices and selections of campus offerings. With a healthy flare to satisfy as well
Trader Joe’s has salad bowls for $3.99 in tons of flavors and dressings. From frozen entrees for the residence hall students, to a lot of premade options and snacks for people on the go.
Yes, they have sushi and it is a dollar cheaper than the Runner Café’s and other Aramark ran food installments.
Convenience is king, and our time is in a crunch as college students, but we can’t be handed everything on a silver platter. There are plenty of options to choose from, just not as convenient as we might want
