Food for Thought

A common controversial topic often spoken about here at Eastern University is the food and dining services. Many students express opinions on the quality, quantity, and presentation of the food and its facilities that are accessible to them on campus. Let’s dive in and get a closer look into how students feel about their options at Eastern and what they like or dislike. 

When looking at Eastern’s main dining facility, the Dining Commons, students express love for Sodexo workers but concern for their meal’s edibleness. 

“My personal experience with Eastern dining has been alright, definitely not the best but also not the absolute worst thing in the world. There are times when the dining hall food is definitely not great, but there are also times when it’s edible and I feel content after eating… Most of the Sodexo workers are pretty nice and will talk to you briefly, I don’t really have a problem with any of the workers,” an anonymous source said. 

Other students have no problem with the Dining Commons and voice that they are content with its products. 

“I like the options that are available. Every day I’m confident there is going to be something I can eat. [I] really enjoy the gluten-free section,” Justin Shaffer said. 

A huge issue expressed by many students are the hours the Dining Commons are open and how prepared the staff is for students who are in a rush. 

“The DC hours work fine for my schedule, though I wish that the workers would have the food prepared on time. Many students, including myself, have tight schedules and need to be places at certain times. Recently, I’ve needed to wait 10+ minutes for food after the DC has opened. I tend to eat lunch around 11am, which is when the DC opens for lunch, and the food is never ready on time when I have somewhere to be,” an anonymous source said. 

“I feel as if the DC hours do not accommodate those who either have classes throughout 

the day and/or are student-athletes. Having a class schedule that has classes 11-2, I cannot go eat lunch at the DC every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The DC dinner hours end at 7, which does not allow student-athletes to eat dinner when coming back from an away game. Being a student-athlete, you need the proper fuel for your body in order to prepare for games/practices. Since the majority of Eastern is composed of athletes, I feel as if the DC hours should be longer to ensure proper nutrition,” an anonymous source said. 

“I think that the DC hours are fine, but I also don’t play any sports or anything. I wouldn’t mind if they were open a little longer on weekends,” Annika Pickard said. 

Jason Karch also expressed his concerns about the Dining Commons hours because of his time as a student athlete. “[The DC] should stay open till 9 [PM] for people that end practice later or even 8:30[PM]. On Saturdays, they should open earlier for sports teams that have games/events,” Karch said. 

The second most popular dining facility at Eastern is Zime, a coffee shop that provides different Starbucks drink options and food for breakfast and lunch. Many students speak about Zime’s made-to-order food options.

“I wish the food options were more reliable,” Marisa Beach said.

“I wish they had more breakfast options,” Annika Pickard said. 

“I wish Zime had more food options, especially considering it is supposed to be the place to go to when the DC is closed,” an anonymous source said. 

Another issue discussed with Zime is how long the lines get and how it takes a while to get your order. “One of my issues with Zime is how long it takes to get food because of how long the lines are. I think that Zime would benefit greatly from adding another register,” another anonymous source said.

Overall, students were asked how their overall dining experience is here at Eastern. 

“I go to Zime and the DC regularly, and although I don’t love the food, the food has gotten better since my freshman year,” Marisa Beach said.

“I have overall enjoyed it. I feel that portions could be bigger, and more options on certain days,” Jeff Day said.

“Sodexo has improved its options over the last couple of years, but I still feel as if we are a far cry from competing with the Dining Halls of other universities. It is not the fault of the workers, rather the quality of ingredients that we have to work with,” an anonymous source said. 

Many students have acknowledged how Eastern and Sodexo are trying to make improvements to the dining scene. Although there are improvements, there are still many things that could be changed. We hope that students can continue to express their concerns and work with the university to create options that work best for everyone.