It’s a Monday, not exactly my favorite day of the week. It’s raining, like usual and I think to myself, it’s noon and I’m starving. I stroll to the cafeteria here at Bellevue College, anticipating what I should get to eat. I dream that some chef-fairy will magically appear holding a plate full of warm, mashed potatoes with gravy, a side of fried chicken, steamed broccoli and a giant piece of chocolate cake. My day-dreaming comes to a crashing halt when I remember it’s Monday, and the main course served is, as always, noodles.
The cafeteria food at BC isn’t exactly the best your “bang for your buck.” The cost of the different variations of expensive ramen runs to six bucks on average and if you’d like some “beef” in your pho, expect to pay extra. This makes me wonder what’s wrong with the cheaper unknown grey chicken floating in my pho. Squirrel meat? Who knows?
The cheapest meal you can get on campus other than a bag of chips is steamed white rice, which isn’t recommended on the pyramid of nutrition.
I’m not the only one who disagrees with the meals here on campus, but everyone has their own preference on what tastes good and bad. When asked if he enjoys the meals here at BC, Jhavoun Harrison, 20, stated: “Yes, I’m about to go there now actually. But it would be cool if they actually had a restaurant, like a chain of Subway or something.”
Not all students are unhappy with the food provided here on campus; some would like to see the money that they spend being worth the cost. Matthew Usher, 19, enjoys the schools “sandwiches, I really like sandwiches.”
When you open the fridge at home, you’re hungry and just want to eat something that leaves you feeling full and happy. You see that you have about five different options to choose from and out of those five things, you eat them on average about five days a week.
That’s how I feel whenever I walk into the lunchroom here at BC. It’s always noodles, salad bar, chicken burger, fries and pizza. Rinse and repeat. Usually by Wednesday, the cafeteria has led me to sheer disappointment and burned a fat hole in my wallet. I close the fridge and walk away.
Despite all of this, I do actually enjoy a nice bowl of pho on Wednesdays, especially if I’m feeling under the weather or it’s cold outside, which is about six months out of the year here in the Northwest. But it would be nice if the school didn’t just serve the same 12 things everyday at the cafeteria. If I’m going to pay an average of $7 for food, why not take all the money earned from tuition, meal prices, etc. and prioritize this funding for some better and healthier meal options for students?