Lunch on campus has become an interesting time for me. Maybe it’s because I have an interest in not ballooning up to 300 pounds or eating the same thing every day, but I find myself leaving campus to eat and I know I’m not the only one.
In the fall semester I ate on campus almost every single day. Steak N’ Shake, Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express and Taco Bell were mainstays in my diet. I kept trying to eat at the Subway, but they were consistently out of bread, which I find incredible.
I’ve had two kidney stones over the past two years so I thought it would be a good time to stop treating my body like a garbage chute, but that’s almost impossible on the University of Memphis campus.
When I was a freshman there was a nice sandwich place, but Panda Express promptly replaced it. Now, there are P.O.D.s around campus that offer Lunchables, salads and sandwiches, but they aren’t very good and aren’t always in stock.
Subway is supposed to be somewhat healthy, but it’s really not that good for you and as I said the one in the Tiger Den likes to run out of bread.
The University had the perfect chance to step up and put a healthy food option on campus when the Chick-Fil-A in the Tiger Den was removed. Instead, they put in a Steak N’ Shake. It tastes good and if you like waiting, are really into upping your cholesterol it’s just for you.
The Panda Express was built a few semesters ago and immediately became my favorite place to eat. Thier orange chicken is amazing and I love it, but it’s fried and I’m pretty sure that eating my own body weight in fried chicken isn’t very good for me.
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If you have a gluten allergy or are lactose intolerant there are few (if any) food options on campus for you. That means the $300 dining dollars that student pays for each semester are wasted until they can be refunded at the end of the semester.
This section of students is not very big, but they should still be represented on campus. Having to go off campus to eat lunch could interrupt someone’s schedule and isn’t always the cheapest option. Students shouldn’t be penalized because of choosing to eat healthy or because of an allergy.
