Reporter
Many students at CSU Bakersfield are only eating the food available on campus due to their schedules, the packed parking lots, or they are living on campus. Some students worry about whether the food on campus is good for their health and their wallets.
“I live in the dorms, so there isn’t much choice other than campus dining,” said Isabela Padilla, a CSUB student who was eating in the cafe.
“The sandwiches are pretty good. It’s a lot of fast food. When you’re living on it every day, it’s not that great a choice. The sandwiches are pretty healthy and filling. I think they’re a little overpriced, but I understand why. I wish there were more healthy options. There’s really only sandwiches and salads that are healthy for lunch,” said Padilla.
Erika Torres said that she normally does not eat on campus in order to save money, but when she does she has the pizza or the pasta.
“I don’t know about healthy, but it tastes good to me,” said Torres. “I’ll eat it. It is more inconvenient because of the lines in (The Runner Café), so it’s more convenient for me to have my own lunch that way I don’t have to come in with the crowd and can eat wherever I want.”
Other students call for more options to choose from on campus.
“I think it’s OK,” said student Alex Palos. “I mean, they should have more better options available. I don’t think it’s too healthy, but I think they should be able to make more sandwiches. They should have maybe a buffet style of food and have more options available.”
Some students who are unable to leave campus during their breaks have no other options but to eat on campus.
“I commute from Porterville, so it’s pretty hard,” said Pamela Ramos. “So I try not to leave my parking spot so I do eat on campus. It’s decent. It might be a little bit overpriced, I think. I know I can get cheaper food off campus, but it’s OK. I think we should have more options here. I think they should provide more actual restaurant brands. I don’t think the food is bad, but I think they can do better. Sushi is different and salad is good, but basically everything else is fattening, especially Rowdy’s. I’ve been there once and I didn’t like that place.”
“The food here is limited. If you come here every day and you eat here normally it seems like it is too limited. I think there should be more variety. It is filling and has reasonable prices, and depending on your choices, it’s healthy. I just like the Stromboli,” said student Michael Baez.
Benigno Mojica said that when he has no other alternative for food, he eats the food on campus. It is convenient, but he said it is less quality.
“It’s pretty average compared to off campus alternatives,” Mojica said. “They took out the variety since Aramark pretty much has direct control. I came here in fall of 2010 and they had a lot more options. I know Wahoo’s was a big one and they pretty much closed it down and turned it into the Roost and then the Rowdy’s now. It’s what’s here now. We have the option not to buy, but if we’re hungry, we’re hungry. We lost the options.”
“A couple quarters ago they had the unlimited soup salad bar and we had the dining commons as well, but they took that out from the old housing complex so we lost a resource there. It needs more variety. My intent was to never insult any staff in general. They’re trying their best,” said Mojica.
The Food Service Director David Hveem has been hearing the complaints from the students about the nutritional status and affordability of the food. He said that he and his staff do everything in their power to provide healthy options for students during lunch with the set lunch menu at the café.
He said healthier options for dinner are available for students who live on campus. As for affordability, Hveem said the prices in the café are no different from the prices off campus for the same items.
“We all have the same operating costs,” Hveem said. “We all have to pay for our lights and our power and our employees and workers comp., insurance, and all the things that come with running a business, but I’m looked at as expensive and they’re not.”
He said that out of approximately 9,500 students on campus he gets roughly 1,000 transactions and of that four hundred students are on meal plans. Less than two percent of the campus eats at the cafe, but almost all students complain about the prices while only six hundred students out of the 1,000 is not on a meal plan with the school.
Hveem said that he wishes people would look around at the food prices at other places and compare them to his prices. He also said that his prices are on par with other food establishments and that he ensures this through weighing and looking at other restaurants that serve similar food. Overall, he said that he wished more students participated in eating at the Runner Cafe.
“I don’t want people looking at me like I’m a thief. That’s not what we’re in business to be. We’re in business to be a reputable company that makes quality food. We want high-customer satisfaction and we want it to return,” Hveem said.
For other stories on the food on campus, go to:
https://therunneronline.com/?p=10521
