Recently a disheartening email survey was sent out to a handful of Hofstra students from Michael Ogazon, the director of Budget and Campus Dining, regarding the potential removal of Build Your Own Burger in Bits & Bytes. This forces us, once again, to question the quality of dining options and health concerns on Hofstra’s campus. As a whole, Hofstra seems to do their best with variety and including different limitations as well as a few healthier options here and there, but seems to miss the mark when it comes to replacing some of its on-campus dining.
Though it has not been confirmed, there are also rumors that Dutch Treats will soon become a Chick-fil-A; although it sounds promising at first, you quickly realize it’s just another unhealthy option added to the long list.
There are people in this world who like eating healthy – or even simply not eating fast food for dinner every night, debating between Chinese food and waffle fries. I know I’m not the only one, but even so, it was proposed that instead of Build Your Own Burger, a Moe’s or a Denny’s (neither of which you’d think of when you’re looking to get in shape or improve your eating habits) could be instated instead. But unless you want to eat salad for every meal, you’re going to have to do some digging.
Sure, there are healthier options at most stations, but there seems to be a powerful drive from officials such as Ogazon to get brand-name companies on campus. It’s not necessary, and usually, these kind of big-name brands are not something I want to put into my body a few times a week for lunch or dinner. It’s like going out to eat every single night, and I’d rather stay in.
For a while, it will seem like a luxury, and it tastes good in the beginning, but if you’ve ever seen “Super Size Me,” you know that nothing good will come from it.
Small stations, like Build Your Own Burger, provide options like veggie burgers (that actually taste good!), which is something that you have trouble finding elsewhere on campus. Rotating stations like the Innovation Kitchen and Student’s Choice offer more variety, and make getting different food groups like vegetables easier to find and incorporate into your diet. Although they change daily and both are very small, it’s about as close as you’ll get to cooking your own meal (unless you’re interested in ordering breakfast food).
Aside from trying to relate to popular chains and restaurants that could replace some very important stations on campus, the university may have more success – and less constant renovation – if they were to add a larger buffet style food set up, as well as keeping the locations like Build Your Own Burger and Dutch Treats that give them variety that isn’t fast food. Fast isn’t always better, and it certainly isn’t healthier, but as the dining options on campus are ever-changing, I’m sure we’ll see this issue again in the near future.
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