Stockton's “Fast Food” Philosophy Leaves Students Starving

By Michael Donne

Eating healthy is never an easy time for anyone. Money, time, and availability are hurdles healthy eaters. Unfortunately, being at Stockton University, especially as a freshmen makes this infuriatingly difficult. With a lack of a kitchen in living space, what Stockton serves is what you get, junk food galore, and healthy items few and far between. However, when a person's diet is limited, whether by health conditions, choice, or religion, choices become even more scarce.

Kelly Amendola, a freshman vegetarian living on campus, a group Stockton struggles to support. For Kelly, the only practical place to get food would be N-Wing, as the food court vegetarian options are scarce. Kelly says some improvements Stockton can make on better food options, “There should be more options in the actual food court rather than just N-wing.” With N-wing not having the best hours, it can be difficult for students to work their schedule around, because only one option is suited for their lifestyle. While these are only inconveniences, people with health conditions have a much rougher time finding food appropriate to eat.

Nicole Mofrad is a freshmen resident at Stockton that has abnormal enzymes in her liver. While normal levels of enzymes in twelve to thirty-two, Nicole has 266. It is unaware what the exact problem is, but the problem only recently came up in December. The only way for Nicole to combat this is working out and healthy eating. However, Stockton's healthy options aren’t good enough, and Nicole puts Stockton's philosophy of serving on why. Nicole Mofrad says, “They don’t put a lot of effort into making it healthy for you,they just wanna feed you and that’s it. Because that's their requirement, they just have to feed you.” Stockto'ns “give and go” mindset sacrifices much of the food quality, leaving much of the meat to appear as if it was heavily processed. The lack of fresh food is one of the biggest problems Nicole has with the food, and putting more money towards fresh food could solve many of the issues. Nicole talks about N-wings produce and says, “You can tell that a lot of the produce that they have there is one, frozen, and two, they leave it out for like a week at a time, its gross.

With Passover underway, the support Stockton has given has been minuscule. The only noticeable change was matzo ball soup being served for one day. Stockton has put the responsibility up to clubs as one of the only places to reliably find food to eat. Brandon Bess, a freshmen resident, discusses the routine he has had to follow to participate, “I’ve mostly been eating in my dorm . . . There’s been nothing special for Passover. While eating right can be an inconvenience for most people, it is a lot harder for other individuals who follow a strict diet. This groups lack of size has left them underrepresented by the University, and a change must be made to cater to all groups.