The Caf is a place on PLNU’s campus that brings connection and community for students. Sharing meals is a common occurrence between students on campus. For some students with severe allergies — such as celiac disease, a peanut allergy, a soy allergy — or strict nutritional regimen for athletes, eating at the Caf can bring difficulties.
“We are limited because we would have to be [eating] chicken and rice, which is drenched in oil, so it cannot technically be trusted because we don’t know how much oil is put in,” Teagen Heise, a second-year political science major, who is also a competitive bodybuilder and personal fitness trainer, said. “That will completely throw off your macros.”
Heise continued, saying that she doesn’t eat at the Caf because she doesn’t necessarily know what she’s consuming.
Heise said she pays for a meal plan, a requirement when living on-campus, and does not use it. A resident of Goodwin, Heise said she sees people all the time who are cooking out of the dorm’s kitchen because they don’t want to eat in the Caf.
Mimi Georgelos, a second-year biology major who trained for the Chicago Marathon during her freshman year and has eaten in the Caf, experienced some difficulty.
“The meat here sometimes is not the best,” Georgelos said. “At home, I’d be eating chickpeas, soy, or more tofu, but it’s just not enough. There wasn’t always tofu. There wasn’t always chickpeas. There weren’t always non-meat protein options. The portions are small … I’d have to get seven different meals to eat enough food. … Which, even on a normal day, I normally get two servings or like multiple different things because it’s just not enough, as somebody who’s running as much as I do. Especially during training, when I was running 10 to 15 miles any given Saturday, and then anywhere from five to seven miles a day, you need significantly more food than you are given.”
Alisa Ward, PLNU professor of kinesiology and health sciences, is a PLNU alum. She was a student athlete during her time at the university, and still regularly eats in the Caf now as a professor.
“Don’t limit yourself to just one option. Do a walk through and see what’s available. Choose an option, but then what can you add on to that?” Ward said. “I might add a little bit of hummus, I might add extra roasted vegetables, or I might add some fruit. … You can easily add small other things just to make it a not-generic meal. You can spruce it up.”
Ward said her go-to line in the Caf is the vegan section. She said the line is usually the shortest, it’s always the most unique meal option and it’s usually something she would not prepare at home. She also says she usually adds something to whatever the vegan option may be — a scoop of hummus, farro, corn, cucumbers or maybe black beans or quinoa, for added protein.
Students with allergies also struggle with the Caf. Some are able to waive out of the meal plan requirement, while others are able to carefully eat in the Caf..
“I believe they overall do a good job, trying to keep common allergy foods separate and always having great options,” Owen Wong, a third-year psychology major with a peanut allergy, said via email. “Though I have had some close calls with poor or improper labeling, also the big tub of peanut butter right next to common utilities like rice cooker and toaster, does in my situation pose a real cross contamination risk, because of this I don’t get any food from that area.”
Other students, like McKenna Kipp, a fourth-year social work major who discovered an allergy to soy and corn her freshman year, worked with the Educational Access Center (EAC) to waive her requirement to buy a meal plan. She said that the people she worked with were very helpful, but said it was a lengthy process.
“I came home and did some food testing and realized what I was allergic to that I had been reacting to each day at the Caf,” Kipp said via email. “I was able to get out of a meal plan my junior year while living in Flex housing. … I believe that this is an issue of the quality of oil that is used in the Caf. Soy is one of the top nine food allergens in the United States and there is no way around it in the only dining hall on campus.”
Multiple attempts to reach dining managers at the Caf to find out how they prepare certain foods and the quality of their products were unsuccessful, as no response was received.
Pamela Harris, who is the EAC’s associate dean of campus accessibility, explained the process of a student waiving their on-campus meal plan requirement. She said a student would have to obtain verification of an allergy or restriction from a licensed provider, followed by a meeting with an EAC manager. PLNU’s campus dietician, Carrie Gunn, works with students to figure out whether or not they are able to eat in the Caf and makes a recommendation to the EAC. Then the center decides if the student qualifies for a meal plan waiver, reduction, or does not qualify. For students whose hometowns and primary care doctors are far, Harris recommends visiting the Wellness Center in Nicholson Commons, as they are able to help with initial evaluations.
“As every student has their own unique needs and food preferences, it is always encouraged for them to come for a one-on-one appointment with me and we can come up with an individualized plan, often utilizing the Everyday app which details out all ingredients in every recipe that Sodexo uses,” Gunn said via email. “It can be easy to fall into a rut eating at the same place on a daily basis, so I’m always happy to help them get creative.”
