college food – Food for Thought

Some College Food Facts

For my blog, I created some info-graphics from statistics that I got from the web and around Point Park University. Each info-graphic includes some topic of food or drink.

The first one, is about the most popular non-alcoholic beverages students drink on a regular basis. According to a report done by Technomic, they researched the most popular non-alcoholic drink that colleges sell in their dining facilities whether its a cafeteria, cafe or Starbucks.

When, I first looked at the statistics I wasn’t surprised that coffee is number one. Many students need some kind of caffeine to get them through the day; so what isn’t better than coffee? However, I was surprised that soda wasn’t one of the top three most popular drinks.

For the second info-graphic I focused on why students prefer off campus dining. According to a Technomic report, only 35% of students are satisfied with school dining and here are the reasons why students aren’t satisfied according to Technomic:

When I looked at the statistics I wasn’t surprised that the five reasons why students preferred off campus dining where because of taste, food options, fresh ingredients, healthy options and that they can custom order food/made to order. As a student at Point Park, I think some of the food does taste well it just depends on who is cooking the food and what food you get. However, I do see a problem with a variety of healthy options and fresh food like fruits and vegetables. All of these reasons to sum up with the problems that colleges face with pleasing the students who eat at their dining facilities.

Lastly, I decided to do some investigating myself about where Point Park student residents go when they want food delivered to them. So, I went looking around campus and asking students. Here is what I found out: the most popular place to get food delivered are Pizza Fiesta, R & B’s, Mandarin Gourmet and other (Dominoes, Grub Hub, Etc.).

When I saw these statistics I wasn’t surprised one bit. As a resident on campus, I often have a hard time of finding places that do deliver downtown especially ones that are open on Sundays and passed 9 PM. With that being said, I do order a lot from Pizza Fiesta so I can see why that is number one, they do have a college special and have a variety of items on their menu from pizza to salad to pasta and even more. The same as R & B’s they are open late and have a variety of options on their menu and have items like wings, pizza, gyros, etc. Mandarin Gourmet is the one place to go to get Chinese food delivered especially on rainy days. The other category includes Grub Hub if students want to find a place that delivers to their exact location or nationwide pizza chains like Pizza Hut, Dominoes, etc.

By doing these info-graphics it helped me learn more about the resident life a little more. I hope it does the same for you!

Work Cited:

“Technomic’s New College & University Study Reveals Shifts in Campus Foodservice Patronage.” Technomic Blog. N.p., 27 June 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.

How do College Students feel about College food?

Recently, I conducted interviews with two students. One student is a Point Park acting major and the other student went to Point Park her freshman year but transferred to the University of Pittsburgh. In the audio package both students share their feelings towards on campus dining. Click here for the interview. I hope you enjoy the package!

The Story Behind the Blog

There have been many questions uprising about College food for the past many years. In the fall of 2014, the big idea of freshman fifteen began across the Country. Many people began putting more thought in about the freshman fifteen out of fear and ways to prevent it from happening. For those of you who don’t know, the freshman fifteen is the idea that when people go to college they end up gaining atleast 15 pounds if not more. Health gurus began talking more about easy and quick workouts college students can do as well as healthy snacks they can eat. However, many people didn’t go into the college campuses and see for themselves what foods colleges offer their students on a regular basis.
When I was a freshman in the fall of 2014 and spring of 2015, I ate at the café and cafeteria on a daily basis. I tried to look for the more healthy options because I didn’t really feel like eating chicken tenders and fries every day of my life and didn’t really like them. So, I tested eating the make your own salads at both the café and cafeteria. The ones at the café were better out of the two. Students got the choice of romaine or spinach lettuce and had options of what to get on the salad. Students also had the choice of getting some kind of meat on the salad which I got a view times but wasn’t impressed. The chicken I got didn’t even taste like chicken but atleast there was a range of toppings to get from. On the other hand, the cafeteria had a salad bar but the vegetables always looked old and not eatable to me. Both places did have fruit but only really had apples but they didn’t even look the freshest on most days.
After the salads and fruits were a tragedy, I had to find other sources to get my vegetables and meat in. So, I decided on getting flat bread panini’s from the café and just get what looked the healthiest at the cafeteria but would usually try to eat some kind of salad if possible. I would try to stay away from the chips and French fries. I always thought that the dining places should offer healthier options to allow students to maintain a healthy lifestyle especially since Point Park has athletes and dancers who attend the school.
For this blog, I decided to go into the cafeteria and café here at Point Park University to capture the essence of what college dining really offers. Instead of going to the faculty to see their take on it, I decided to go to the students. When it comes to college dining, students don’t really have a voice. So, with this blog I wanted to give students the voice on what they think about the food and what changes they would make for the dining places within the school to cater more towards the student’s needs. It is important to give students the voice because they are the people that eat the food on a daily basis to give them fuel for the day.

Hello

Welcome to my new blog, Food for Thought. This blog is all about the College dining experience! It’ll have a detailed story about College dining specifically at Point Park University. I will create a story through words, pictures, infographics and an audio package containing interviews. Not many people give students a voice to say how they feel about the food they receive in College. This blog will give an inside look in the world of college food.

Enjoy! 🙂