Students who rely on school lunches are often taking a gamble when it comes to the quality of the food, yet bringing a sandwich to campus day after day feels monotonous even if it’s convenient. But if food from the high school cafeteria is really that bad, university dining hall food can be even worse somehow — and harder to escape since many college students who live on campus depend on it for every meal. This is why I love Trader Joe’s. It’s a means of escape from the stale, unseasoned misery that is college campus food.
In my experience, meals in dining halls are not really prepared with quality in mind, just quantity. Menus are designed and dishes are prepared by massive private contractors like Compass Group, which has received repeated criticism over the quality of meals provided to schools and prisons. Pasta is overboiled, meat is unseasoned and overcooked, and the food is usually soaked with oil while the salad bar and other healthy options are neglected. It’s edible — but barely. With students rushing through the lunch and dinner rushes, serving utensils rarely stay in the containers they’re meant to, and cross contamination happens.
If you have dietary restrictions, you’re not going to find much of anything to eat at a university dining hall. Odd dining hall hours mean some meals are missed, and you need to figure something out for yourself.
Some universities require resident students to have a meal plan to live in a residence hall, while others lack any reasonable kitchen amenities for students to use or prohibit cooking appliances in dorms. If they do have kitchens, like mine did, facilities — and the messes that come with prepping food — are often shared with an entire building. Your pan becomes a communal pan if you leave it behind.
When you are a student and spend most of your life doing schoolwork, cooking is the last thing on your mind. So, what on earth is one to eat? This is the dilemma many students face either in their time living on a college campus or even in high school. Many turn to microwaveable foods, like instant ramen and Hot Pockets, but finding healthy and interesting options is still a major challenge.
I practically survived off of Trader Joe’s frozen curries, pizzas, samosas, potstickers, frozen kung pao chicken, chicken pot pie and tamales during my freshman year of college. When my dining hall food was absolutely unacceptable, which it often was, I was able to feed myself. When the dining hall was closed during dinner or lunch, my local Trader Joe’s had meal options that didn’t require a full kitchen.
Trader Joe’s is an incredibly valuable thing to have nearby a college campus. Because the store sells almost all of its products under a private label, they often come at a significant discount compared to brand-name foods sold at other groceries. The emphasis on organic food, vegetarian products and frozen meals makes it the perfect spot for the more health food conscious and busy college students.
The moral of the story is that having access to healthy and affordable food near your campus might be just as important as the degrees being offered or the social opportunities available when weighing college options. Take note of the meal plans each school offers, and make sure you know whether the campus housing is equipped with kitchen appliances. Lastly, look for a Trader Joe’s or other food sources that might be available to you near any prospective colleges and universities. You just might need it.
