As countless celebrities and passion- ate advocates spread awareness of vegetarian and vegan diets, the shift to more natural eating has spiked across college campuses. For this very reason, Elon University should accommodate more diverse food options.
Green World at 1889 has taken into account the needs of students, featuring vegan and vegetarian options such as soups, pastas and black bean burgers. Still, this is just a fraction of a dining hall out of the 3 on-campus dining halls that take these students into consideration.
If students choose to eat a vegan meal at Lakeside, for instance, the plethora of food choices from various countries limited to essentially french fries and salad. Most meals at this location contain meat or dairy, and its vegetarian station is oftentimes filled by foods for those with gluten intolerance or other dietary restrictions.
So while students may have one dining hall option, if they want to eat anywhere else on campus, they must make do with lettuce and starch.
Elon brags about its “healthy food options” and “fresh produce” that is available to students throughout cam- pus, but most of these foods contain meat or dairy. Vegetarians cannot eat most sandwiches or soups because they contain meat. Vegans struggle even more to obtain proper protein levels and eat well on campus.
One option that the university could enact is allowing students to get out of meal plans, regardless of where they live on campus.
As of now, Elon requires all first-year students to purchase an All Access + 14, All Access + 7 or All Access Basic meal plan for the year. These plans can cost up to $3,855 per semester. Sophomores, as well as upperclassmen living on campus, are also required to have at least a 200 Block meal plan, depending on where they live.
This means that students are paying thousands of dollars per semester for limited food options.
The university has made exceptions for sophomores in the past, allowing them to live off-campus so that they are not confined to a limiting meal plan, but what about students who choose to live with their friends in a residence hall or an on-campus apartment?
Also, some students are required?to live on-campus because of various scholarships and grants. What the university has not done so far is simply allow students to opt out of meal plans if they have legitimate reasons.
There are many different ways the university could address this issue. At the very least, lowerclassmen forced to have a meal plan should be allowed to choose a less expensive option, regardless of whether they live in a residence hall that requires an all-access plan.
More options in dining halls would be beneficial and most likely make students more inclined to want a meal plan in the first place.