Pitt needs higher food standards

The age-old college complaint about bad campus food is tired after countless years in… The age-old college complaint about bad campus food is tired after countless years in contention. Dining halls – which are frequented largely by underclassmen – are subjected to the tough standards of those leaving the comforts of high school home cookin’. And any complaints freshmen may make are supplemented annually by the revolutionary idea that the block system rips them off every week. This repetition from students is met with complacency from the administration, and little is done to improve quality in Pitt dining halls. But maybe a little accountability is not too much to ask.

As vegan and vegetarian students are quick to report, Pitt’s dining halls are weak when it comes to animal alternatives. A trip to any one of them – Schenley Cafe being the worst – leaves the potential patron with a notion that it’s not worth eating if it hasn’t roamed a field at one point or another. Schenley earned this reputation in part by closing down its salad bar in favor of pre-packaged vegetarian treats. Public feedback to the change has not been encouraging.

For those who are OK with eating meat, the selection is better but quality is still an issue. Many question the freshness of dining hall grub and wonder if it contains any real health value. Students shouldn’t have to slam three bowls of Total every morning to be confident they are getting their fair share of vitamins and minerals.

Certainly some complaints are bound to arise every year. It’s not easy to consistently please the widely varying tastes of thousands of people, especially when it comes to food. But it is entirely possible to set high standards, and Sodexho is certainly capable of silencing its critics. The company caters for many University events, and food selection generally draws rave reviews. They have the resources and the potential to satisfy, but many students who frequent Schenley, Eddie’s and The Marketplace still leave disappointed.

It would be very interesting to hear the administration’s view on the issue. Maybe the chancellor, the provost and the rest of the Pitt bigwigs should commit to spend a week subsisting on dining blocks alone. It’s healthy for University leaders to walk a few blocks in the students’ shoes now and then, and it would provide them with a fresh outlook on Pitt dining halls – an outlook that may provide Pitt students with fresh food.