HELP! my university has stopped offering vegetarian food?!?

Question

I am a freshman living on campus at a public university in Texas an recently the main cafeteria has stopped offering vegetarian food. I am unsure where to go from here.

I went to dinner at 5pm today only to find that they are not offering any vegetarian entrees for the 3rd day in a row! My school does offer pizza daily but, 1 it is not always available and 2 who wants to eat cheese pizza and brown salad every day for a year!

It is not just me having a problem. One of my good friends cannot eat pork for religious reasons, today's entrees were grilled Turkey Ham and cheese sandwich (pre made) and pork tenderloin. by the time she went to dinner at 6.20 there was no more cheese pizza and when she asked if they had more or could make more she was told just to eat the pepperoni pizza.

there are 2 other places to eat on campus that do have a slightly better selection (fast food), however they do not hold the same hours (the all close at 4pm Monday-Friday and are closed on the weekends) and are also at extremely inconvenient locations. (i.e. the closest one you have to walk past the main cafeteria and up a hill to get to and the other is a 15 minute walk)

If someone could tell me what to do or help me find the laws pertaining to the requirement of public universities to provide edible food for everyone I would be forever grateful.

I am not sure if i mentioned this but a meal plan is required at my school for freshman *and not the small ones either* so i am paying to be hungry.

Answer 1

Thank the lord, I couldn"t eat that stuff either, its just a faze you are going thru being in college, once you are out in the real world things will change.

Answer 2

I think you had better drop out or transfer. They aren't going to change the whole food program for you.

Answer 3

just go to a store and get a couple of salads or protest get people to to sign um whats it called a petition i think

Answer 4

I ran into this problem when I went to Eastern Connecticut State University a few years back, and unfortunatly I didn't know who to contact so I gained way too much weight trying to eat the few choices they gave me at their one dining hall on campus.

    As far as fixing this problem, I would do a few things.  Talk to the cafeteria manager or supervisor--whatever they have at your school.  They may be able to refer you someone else to talk to.  You can also write to your school newspaper because I'm sure you are not the only one with this problem, there are many vegetarians out there!  Maybe even start a petition to offer more vegetarian-friendly choices for you if you meet some vegetarians with the same opinion or set up a table.

    I also suggest you visit the website http://www.peta2.com as they deal with problems like this (it stands for people for ethical treatment of animals) and can give you any other advice I may not have thought of.  

    Hope this helps you out a bit!

Answer 5

Easy.  Just go to the grocery store and buy some vegetarian food.  Make sure you have a small fridge to keep your fruits and vegetables cool.  

Answer 6

that is horrible! especially since you obviously have the food plan that you paid good money for and now you can't use it - which i would definitely bring up to officials at your school. i don't like to throw the word around, but if they refuse to change this, it is discrimination. a lot of people are vegetarian for more than social reasons, either for doctor ordered health or religious reasons as you stated.

see if there are any vegetarian or animal rights clubs at your school and see what you can do with them to try to get this fixed. the college i went to had a Hindu society (which i am) and a lot of Hindus are vegetarian - you can try to get them involved. there is always power in numbers!

good luck!  

Answer 7

You can try talking with whoever is in charge but that probaly won't get you far. Also are you comfortable with ordering a meat product, picking off the meat and eating the non-meat proteins? Or does that bother you. Other than that you're stuck. Try and get students to show support.

Answer 8

Well, this all depends upon what you contracted for in your food plan. If you contracted for vegetarian meals, then of course you need to get in action if they aren't offering them.

Otherwise, you may just need to nicely approach those who provide the food service (don't get all militant, maybe start a petition). There is no way an institution can cater to everyone's individual meal plans and preferences. I would like everything lactose free, so I won't get sick, but I'd never demand it! I eat what I can out of what is offered. Surely they have soups, a salad bar, isn't there bread where you can make sandwiches, etc.

Answer 9

Entree. Side dish. It's just a name. Eat the food you can and don't worry what it's called.

Answer 10

Poor you, you should of done your homework before going there. I'd suggest talking to the dean of students and telling him that you love the school, but if they can't accommodate your dietary needs you will need to transfer.  

Answer 11

There are a few things you can do...:

Get a petition of those who want vegetarian options (but I would make it clear you aren't trying to convert or take food away from the omnis but just get the msg that you want your option available too!). Take the petition (hopefully a large amount of the population that eats in the cafetaria) to someone higher up who can aid in the decision making- if possible.

Prepare a presentation to someone higher up (again that can aid in the cafeteria food purchasing/decision making) about the obesity epidemic and how they have a duty to their society and students to offer healthy meals (not just vegetarian but across the board!!!!).

Make friends with other vegetarians. Create a group where you can cook together, make potlucks, etc. so you don't have to rely on the cafeteria.

Whatever you do, be professional and have a lot of support (both in research and in the student body). When they are recruiting new students and giving them tours, you could make sure they know how poor their food selections will be. And if someone is passionate about being healthy or having vegetarian options, this could be enough for them to consider- maybe not but seeing something reflected badly onto a college is enough to get some attention which often leads to some changes or the school risks bad publicity.

Spread the bad news in media form. If the school doesn't want to do anything about it, again, take it to the public. Sure, this might sound like a huge deal to make but if you have college radio, college newspapers, or local newspapers that are interested- why not? Again, bad publicity can make someone change their tune.

So there are a few ideas I just had. I attend a healthcare based university with a large vegetarian population and if they stopped serving vegetarian dishes, there would be riot I think lol! So, good luck to you!!!

Answer 12

I am a Production Manager at a College in NY. I have recieved various e-mails from students and parents of students that have "special needs" diets, including vegan, vegetarian, religious, medical... to wheat and dairy allergies.

My suggestion is that you go directly to the top of the chain of dining services at your school. Check your school's website for the food services roster and look for the Director of Food Service. He/She will  address your concern immediately. Be sure to include your schedule conflicts with any other food service units on your campus, the type of meal plan you have, and if possible, be specific about the date and time of the meal period where there were not suitable options for you.

If your school has a food comittee...join it! Let your voice be heard!

Also, ask to speak with the Production Manager and/or Dining Hall Manager, they have control over menu options and purchasing. If a full-time veggie/vegan line is not possible for them to offer, perhaps they can make accomodations for you by preparing a veggie burger, soy patty...etc. in the back kitchen to order.  

Answer 13

go bye a little refrigerator and bye some vegitarein food