{"id":13473,"date":"2019-04-25T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T13:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=13473"},"modified":"2019-04-16T12:25:55","modified_gmt":"2019-04-16T16:25:55","slug":"how-to-add-more-vegan-foods-to-your-college-cafeteria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2019\/04\/25\/how-to-add-more-vegan-foods-to-your-college-cafeteria\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Add More Vegan Foods to your College Cafeteria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Taylor\nGale<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being\nvegan in college can be tricky, especially if your dining halls do not have\nvegan options readily available. If there are no veg-friendly\noptions, make your own! That is exactly what I did during my sophomore year at\nLoyola University of Maryland. I went into college as a vegetarian, but wanted\nto become vegan. The only problem was that the dining halls offered almost\nnothing for students who were vegetarian and forget about it if you were vegan!\nSo, I decided to get involved in Student Government Association with the goal\nin mind of transforming the dining halls. The following year I was elected as\nDirector of Student Affairs, which yep you guessed it, made me in charge of\nLoyola\u2019s dining halls. The following steps are ways of how to add more vegan\nfoods to your college cafeteria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly,\ndo your research and find out exactly what vegetarian and vegan dishes, if any,\nthey serve. Typically, college cafeterias have their menus online. Check what\ndays any veggie options are available and what the ingredients are in these\ndishes. If they serve a decent amount of vegetarian options, you can suggest to\nveganize the dishes, which can easily be done in most cases. If you cannot find\nout enough information online or in person, ask to set up a meeting with the\ndining hall staff. Most times, they are happy to hear students out to learn\nabout their needs and what can be changed within the cafeteria to make the\nstudents\u2019 experience better. When you have a meeting with the dining hall\nstaff, go in fully prepared with recipe ideas. You may have a proposal of\nconverting one of the food stations to offer fully vegetarian and vegan items.\nLay out what veg options they offer currently to show how much expansion could\noccur. Be creative when you create recipe ideas! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\ncannot stress enough\u2014be empathetic to the food service employees. Oftentimes,\ngraduate students are the ones in charge of managing college dining halls,\nwhich means they may not have the knowledge that you as a vegetarian\/vegan\nhave. It is very hard to make visible changes within the food sectors and\ncertain decisions may be out of the hands of whom you are meeting with, so\nremember to be patient and compassionate, always! Treat the staff as you would\nlike to be treated. You\ncan start easy by giving suggestions of how to create a veg-friendly dining\nexperience, such as having the option of Meatless Mondays. If your small\nsuggestions are being received well, later on you can present the idea of\nconverting a whole station, but this is a big request, so work towards it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\ngreat starting point is to ramp up the salad bar. Firstly, the types of greens\noffered is important. If they do not have a variety of greens, I suggest asking\nthem to incorporate kale, spinach, arugula, and mixed greens. If your salad\ndoes not offer any types of beans, firstly that is just tragic. In a nice way\nrequest the dining staff to incorporate various beans! I typically suggest to\ncarry black beans, garbanzo beans, and edamame consistently, as well as\noffering a bean salad. You can advocate to incorporate the following\ningredients: corn, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, bell peppers (red and green),\navocado, hummus, pasta salad that has a vinaigrette base, saut\u00e9ed mushrooms,\ntofu or vegan chick\u2019n, carrots, seaweed salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion,\nred cabbage, quinoa, roasted squash and sweet potatoes, wild rice, dried fruit,\nand assortment of nuts\u2014i.e., walnuts, silvered almonds and cashews, etc. For\ndressings, give them various options. You could propose getting a vegan sweet\nThai chili vinaigrette, balsamic, zesty Italian, oil & vinegar, tahini,\nolive oil, lemon and lime juice, and spicy cashew dressing. Now some of these\nitems will not be a viable option, depending on your dining hall\u2019s space. These\nare just suggestions to make to the dining hall staff! With these options,\nhaving a salad everyday will not become so monotonous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nsandwich bar line is another great place to start to incorporate more veg\noptions. Similar to the salad suggestions you can recommend: carrots, assorted\ncooked vegetables, avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts, hummus,\npickles, onions, lettuce, sweet potatoes, olives, peppers, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loyola\nutilizes Parkhurst dining\u2019s food services. Parkhurst partners with local\nfarmer\u2019s markets, and offers brands, such as Gardein and Just Mayo to bring\ntasty foods to campus. You need to find out what foods your school\u2019s\ndistributors carry. If they do not carry the foods that you like, see if they\ncan incorporate other items. You can go directly to the company and see if they\nare willing to bring their food items into the dining halls, but this may get\ncomplicated due to partnership clauses, higher pricing, etc., so I highly\nrecommend asking the dining staff what types of foods are available to you and\nif those items can expand to other choices, specifically veg-friendly brands of\nvegan meat. This way you can have vegan chick\u2019n to add some protein and a punch\nof flavor into your sandwich or wrap. You might be able to get the best brand\nnames, wohooo, fingers crossed!  Do not\nbe surprised if you cannot get them all incorporated into the cafeteria. It\nnever hurts to ask though! You can also suggest to get vegan mayo. Just Mayo\nand Fabanaise are vegan mayo options I like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember\ncomplex carbs are your friends. Eating various grains and starches, such as\nsweet potatoes and brown rice are perfect for retaining a healthy vegan diet.\nIt is so effortless to incorporate these types of foods as sides or entr\u00e9es\nwithin the dining halls! Just make sure to explain to them that there cannot be\nany dairy, specifically milk or cheese, honey, eggs, or any other animal\nproduct within these dishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nprotein options, you can suggest offering veggie burgers, which can be made in\nso many different and simple ways! Steamed veggies, quinoa, tofu, tempeh,\nseitan, and any beans, nuts, or seeds are great sources of protein for vegans.\nLet the dining staff know this so that they are able to provide a protein\nsufficient meal for every vegan and nonvegan on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays,\ndining halls have become increasingly veg-friendly\u2014e.g., offering dairy\nsubstitutes such as, soy or almond milk. If your school does not offer this,\nmake sure to bring it to their attention, so that you can have cereals and\nnon-dairy substitutes in your coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If\nyour dining hall does not have a fruit stand, stop whatever you are doing and\nensure that they get one! The classics should always be available to\nstudents\u2014i.e., apples, bananas, and oranges. I would recommend setting up\npartnerships with local vendors and farmer markets so that the dining halls can\nbuy fruits and vegetables that are in season. This is a great way to support\nthe local community as well as promote a more sustainable and environmentally\nfriendly diet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nLoyola University of Maryland\u2019s dining halls, where I currently attend, there\nis a bagel and bread section with an assortment of spreads. This is a quick and\neasy option for students on the go. Ask them what vegan breads and bagels are\ncurrently available. If none, advocate for bringing some in. For spreads, you\ncan ask to have peanut butter, vegan jams and jellies, and maybe even vegan\nbutter and cream cheeses, but again this will depend on your school\u2019s budgeting\nand ability to partner with name brands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oftentimes,\npeople assume that vegans do not have sweets, which is so false. Nowadays,\nthere are so many dessert options for vegans.An easy place to start would be at the ice cream station, assuming\nthat there is one. Sorbet is typically vegan, but check and make sure what\nflavors are vegan before you recommend any. Store brand names, such as Ben\n& Jerry\u2019s and Luna & Larry\u2019s Coconut Bliss, offer nondairy ice cream.\nSee if this is a viable option for your cafeteria. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember\nthat changing the dining halls is a long process. Be patient and calm when\nconversing with the staff. It is also important to not be timid. Be concise\nwith your words and go into those meetings with an outlined plan of what you\nwould like to say and get accomplished. Be confident, professional, and kind.\nThis is the key to getting what you want across to the staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes,\nthe staff may turn down most or some of your veg ideas\/options, but any step in\nthe right direction makes a world of a difference in the long run. You are not\nonly making the dining halls better for yourself, but you are helping out other\nvegan and vegetarian current and incoming students!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\nmy experience, the payoff is well worth conducting research and multiple\nmeetings! I am now a senior at Loyola and was able to comfortably convert to\nbeing vegan once I became in charge of the dining halls during my sophomore\nyear. I had countless meetings with the managers, students, faculty, and the\nrest of the dining staff to figure out what Loyola\u2019s community wanted to eat on\na daily basis. It took a lot of convincing to bring vegan meats and other vegan\nsubstitutes to campus. At first, the staff looked at me funny and laughed in my\nface, because they simply had no clue what veganism meant. It was such a\nforeign concept to most of the individuals I met with, but I remained\npersistent, calm, educated the staff on what a vegan diet entails, and backed\nup the need for veg options by showing them how many students did not eat meat\non campus. Although Loyola is not vegan heaven, the staff have made many\nefforts to help accommodate veg and nonveg students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nrecipe ideas, check out our recipe guides at: https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/links\/Recipes.htm<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

and https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fsupdate\/index.htm<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To\nlearn more about ideas for college food service, see https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/teen\/#college<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Taylor Gale Being vegan in college can be tricky, especially if your dining halls do not have vegan options readily available. If there are no veg-friendly options, make your own! That is exactly what I did during my sophomore year at Loyola University of Maryland. I went into college as a vegetarian, but wanted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13475,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13473\/revisions\/13475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}