Food, Glorious Food
Healthy options abound, but will students pay attention?
When we think about college, we may think about late-night pizzas, burritos, chicken nuggets, or ramen noodles.
But in recent years, Madison has developed a reputation as a city of “foodies,” with a growing interest and emphasis on locally sourced, high-quality foods and ingredients.
That trend has influenced what’s available to hungry students on campus. Although convenient and fast-food options continue to be available, there are a number of new and growing choices for students who live in University Housing and in off-campus apartments and houses. What remains a question, though, is how often busy and frequently cash-strapped students will make use of them.
And, of course, nutrition, along with sleep, exercise, and stress management make for healthy and successful students.
“Eating options are much more varied, probably 500 percent more than even 25 years ago when I started with the organization,” says Julie Luke, associate director of Housing’s dining services. “We have with more opportunities to enjoy freshly made and customized food, versus sitting for long periods in a warming cabinet.”
One only needs to take a stroll through the gleaming new Gordon Avenue Market in the Gordon Dining and Events Center or the similarly shiny Four Lakes Market in DeJope Hall to see exactly what she means. In addition to more traditional fare, Housing is offering its new Global Kitchen branded items from cuisines around the world. Students can choose among 14 daily sandwiches, wraps, and paninis, plus taco salads, quesadillas, and salads.
Student suggestions and preferences are noted, and responded to, and much progress has been made to serve those with vegan and vegetarian preferences. (More will be done in the future, Luke notes.) But she points out that students are students, living away from home for the first time, and that the old standbys — fried food, in particular, still do especially well.
“It appears to be a trend with our clientele, but we also see many contradictory eating behaviors, such as many selecting the 18 Wheeler Dealer [18 round chicken nuggets] when it is on the menu,” she adds.
That continues to happen for two major reasons, says, Liz Freitick, a nutritionist and registered dietician with University Health Services. “[Junk food] is quick and fast, and sometimes the line for the salad bar is the longest,” says Freitick, who has been providing nutrition and weight counseling to students since 1998. “And they eat what’s cheap.”
Among the students she sees, time and cost are two of the most powerful motivating factors. To help address the issue, UHS has started a program called Taste-Learn-Cook, based in the test kitchen of Fresh Market, a central campus grocery store. The monthly sessions provide students, who may be coming to college lacking in skills for basic cooking, ideas on how to chop an onion or how to make a meal from limited ingredients. (They also receive a meal for participating.) The sessions, which continue in February, are still lightly attended, but Freitick hopes they’ll steadily grow in 2013.
In some ways, she notes, encouraging students to make healthy eating choices can be more challenging than getting them into the gym to start an exercise program because of the cost and the need to plan. But students who exercise also tend to be more aware of wellness and are generally healthier eaters, she adds.
Without nagging students about food choices, Luke and Freitick agree that parents can play a positive role by reading up on easy-to-make foods and asking questions about how students are spending their dining dollars.
Freitick suggests that parents help students stock up on healthy snacks — such as nuts, whole-grain crackers, and dried fruit — and help fill refrigerators with smart options.
Students can also seek out others who are focusing on good food choices, such as UW Slow Food, a student organization that hosts lunches and dinners that emphasize local, affordable ingredients.
In the end, Freitick recognizes that juggling academics, out-of-class activities, exercise — and frequently, student jobs — on limited time and sleep make it very difficult to pay attention to healthy eating.
“It’s possible that this is one too many things to handle for students,” she says. “But our goal is to start taking small steps. It’s progress to see them start adding a serving of fruit or vegetables at each meal, hoping they’ll do more in the future. You have to start somewhere.”
Parents and students can find extensive information on these topics, particularly through UHS and Housing.
What about food allergies and sensitivities?
As many as 15 million Americans are dealing with some form of food allergy or intolerance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For them, exposure or ingestion of an allergen — most commonly peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, shellfish, fish, soy or wheat/gluten — can lead to reactions ranging from illness to life-threatening symptoms.
A growing number of students are entering colleges and universities with a need to manage their allergies in food-service settings. It’s extremely important for parents and health care professionals to be involved in that process.
University Housing Dining and Culinary Services understands the concerns and works to address them by providing information that includes online menus, line-item signs with allergen and nutrition information, and staff members who are willing to meet with individual students, says Julie Luke, associate director of Housing’s dining services.
To work with Housing most effectively, students and parents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the resources online, and then talk with a registered dietitian for more details and effective strategies for dining in Housing venues. To schedule an appointment with a dietitian, email dining@housing.wisc.edu.
Some accommodations are related to the facilities, Luke notes. “We label all products that are among the big eight allergens,” she says. “We also are particular about placement of nuts on salad bars, and as toppings for entrees so that they can be added safely by those that want and should have them. We have separate scoops and dip wells for ice cream in our Bean and Creamery operations. We have moved peanut butter off some of our more public condiment-serving areas.”
Housing is also working on a special “zone” in each of its units where customers can prepare special gluten-free convenience goods.
Lastly, staff members always take care to avoid cross-contamination in facilities whenever possible, but it’s important to note that this risk is never completely eliminated. Residents with food allergies are reminded to use appropriate caution in the community setting of a residence hall.
For more information, visit the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network and University Housing Dining and Culinary Services.