The cafeteria at Milligan feeds students every day. The have a hot line, pizza bar, deli bar, bagel bar, cereal bar, salad bar and a specialty bar. These are all great. But a problem has arisen in the Milligan cafeteria. While the food is decent, there is a huge lack of vegetarian options. I have been a vegetarian for six years, and I’m used to not always having a huge variety to chose from, but students need a vegetarian option on the hot line. I am tired of having to eat pizza, bagels and cereal or going to the deli or specialty bar because the only main dishes on the hot line include meat.
While I realize that not everyone at Milligan is a vegetarian, there are vegetarian-friendly options that can please everyone. Mac ‘n cheese is a great example. I have heard vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike talk about how much they like it. There are so many other foods like it that can please everyone without having meat on it. Meat is easy to add on, but once it’s on, it automatically becomes a non-option for vegetarians.
Some people talk about how there are enough other options in the cafeteria that it shouldn’t matter if there isn’t always a vegetarian option. However, vegetarian options in the cafeteria are not healthy enough to sustain a diet on. There is a salad bar and cooked vegetables and occasionally some fruit. But cereal, bagels, pizza and the deli bar are all simple carbs. The specialty bar is normally carbs but sometimes can have protein. Everyone needs protein in their diet and the cafeteria rarely offers a vegetarian protein source. There is sometimes tofu for the special tossed salad bar or some of the specialty bars, but not often enough for it to be a regular protein source. A lack of protein is not good for anyone, as protein keeps you full and helps you maintain a balanced diet. With the heavy hand of carbs and lack of protein, vegetarians are left with a diet that leads to weight gain if they are not careful. Carbs don’t keep you full for very long, and so you end up eating more to keep yourself full and in the process end up consuming extra calories.
The average Milligan student on the meal plan pays $1,725 a semester, or $3,450 a year. While the cafeteria is a buffet and students can eat as much as they please, when vegetarians are stuck with the options that are presented (or not), there is no way that they are consuming $3,450-worth of food a year. Getting off the meal plan is virtually impossible if students live in Sutton, Hart or Webb, so it is not like they could go off the meal plan and save that money to grocery shop for themselves. The only way to get off the meal plan is to either live close by or have a dietary restriction. Since being a vegetarian is a choice and not an allergy, Milligan does not consider it a reason for going off the meal plan.
The Grill is a great place for vegetarians to eat. They have grilled cheese, cheese/vegetable quesadillas, cheese pizza and veggie burgers available every day. The problem arises when you realize how quickly 25 meals can go. But when the only options in the cafeteria for you are the carbs that you’ve been eating all semester, you want real food. I have had to end up purchasing the meal plan plus so that I can get extra money on my card and go to the Grill when I don’t want cereal, pizza, bagels or the deli bar, again.
Overall, while the Milligan cafeteria isn’t awful, there is a lot of room for improvement. With a growing number of vegetarian and vegans on campus, Milligan needs to accommodate us and make sure that our diet is as balanced and healthy as everyone else’s on campus.