John Abbott College students are disappointed in this semester’s new cafeteria services. Many of the students believe that the cafeteria’s prices are too expensive for less healthy food options.
Many students at John Abbott rely on the school’s cafeteria services for meals and snacks throughout their week. Since the cafeteria’s reopening this fall, the salad bar, popular with students looking for a healthy meal, was not available until mid-September. Student Kristen Goodall says that she buys from the cafeteria every day. “It took them a really long time to set up [...] For the first week it was really kind of sad and disappointing because I use the cafeteria pretty much every day that I’m here, so it’s important to have a good selection.” Abbott student Kristina Zergiotis, 18, expresses her concern about the missing salad bar. “They don’t have a lot of healthy choices as opposed to last semester [...] it’s mostly fried junk food.”
Another student, Grace-Amanda Jones, 19, was concerned about the effects of the new pasta bar system on students’ eating habits. Instead of pricing based on weight as done last semester, the cafeteria now charges six dollars for a carton of pasta, no matter how full. “It encourages students to get as much as you can for the six dollars,” Grace-Amanda explains. “It encourages you to eat more. So basically, you’re replacing your salad with carbs.” According to MyFitnessPal, a dietary tracker, the amount of spaghetti with sauce to completely fill one of the cafeteria pasta cartons – approximately four cups – contains 975 Calories. This is compared to the same amount of a typical salad made last semester at the cafeteria’s salad bar, comprised of greens, tomatoes, onions, boiled eggs, cucumbers, and dressing – approximately 480 Calories. Jones also stated, “[The salad bar] was really the only healthy choice we had.”
Christina Daoussis, a representative of Aramark, the cafeteria services provider, outlines the changes made to the John Abbott cafeteria in the switch, emphasizing their “Express” brand, comprised of products such as premade cold sandwiches, salads, fruit cups, yogurt, and cheesecake parfaits. According to Daoussis, the “Express” line is a good choice for students and staff looking for an alternative to the fried menu. “[We have] Express sandwiches [...] Those are our healthier options. You can see almost all of them have the nutritional facts on them. We also try to incorporate fruits and vegetables, your healthier stuff, with whole grains. That’s kind of an Aramark trait.”
However, 18 year-old C.A.L.L. student Sarina Picard, finds that the healthier options are less accessible. “I try to get water to be healthy. It’s $3.49, and I’m thinking, what the hell?” she said. “Then the fountain drinks they’re what, two dollars? So at this point, it’s cheaper to have the bad-for-you choices. You just don’t go the healthy way anymore.” She elaborates that many students opt for coffee and soft drinks over water or fruit juice, mainly because of the latter’s higher prices.
The price of the cafeteria food was a concern expressed by nearly every student. First-year student Oliver Snell, 17, recognized this: “[The prices] are very high. I know there was a jump from last semester to this semester.” Picard also argued that, long term, “No one has enough money for this. Even I have a job – I can’t afford it.” Another student, Donivan Bell-Kisiel, 18, sees this jump in prices as “a bad thing for the students who have to pay for their own education.”
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