Dietary options questioned

Students share frustrations with campus dining options and hope for the future

Catherine Silvey / Feature Editor / The USD Vista

When taking a tour of the University of San Diego’s campus or exploring the school’s website, prospective students are met with descriptions of the numerous awards and rankings the school has received, including accolades commending the food services of the university.

In 2019, the Princeton Review ranked USD 14th nationally for campus food, while users of the website Niche gave USD’s campus food an “A+” rating.

Despite numerous awards and nationwide recognition for quality campus dining, some students with dietary restrictions still cite issues and concerns with USD’s food services.

While working on campus during OLÉ! Weekend, some vegan students specifically encountered issues with accessing provided meals. One such student was Savannah Robledo, a sophomore SA, who expressed frustration both in her own experiences and witnessing the experiences of others.
“During OLÉ! Weekend the school doesn’t provide any vegan options whatsoever,” Robledo said.

“As a student leader this year, I had many students come up to ask where the vegan option was, and I felt terrible telling them there wasn’t one and they’d have to just eat the chips and fruit as a ‘meal.’”

Such frustrations are not new. Despite the campus organization Student Vegans United fighting for dietary option accessibility, especially in its role in the creation of the Clean Earth Kitchen at Pavilion Dining, some vegan students believe that there is still room to grow within campus dining.

“Some of the items at the SLP are mislabeled as vegan or vegetarian,” Robledo said. “During my first week of school I got a ‘vegan’ burger from Sea Salt Grill a couple times before finding out the burger bun was not vegan the entire time … brunch at the SLP is extremely disappointing, as the only options really are oatmeal, spring rolls, and waffles.”

Cross-contamination is another concern cited by student vegans. While she acknowledged that all on-campus dining spots provided at least one option for vegan students, senior Hannah Sonberg noted that meals with animal products and vegan meals are often prepared in the same space using the same equipment.

“Unfortunately, I’ve noticed a lot of instances of cross-contamination on campus, whether it be preparing vegan food in general areas or not changing gloves,” Sonberg said. “When someone orders a vegan meal, it would be nice to see the worker immediately change gloves.”

Vegans are not alone in their concerns about cross-contamination. Toreros with food allergies also fear communal food preparation, as sometimes even slight cross-exposure between foods is enough to spark a serious, potentially life-threatening reaction.

Sophomore Amanda Mueller understands this realization fully, as she was diagnosed with celiac disease this summer. While impressed by the amount of gluten-free options USD kitchens prepare, Mueller still has reservations about eating on campus.

“Since I was recently diagnosed and I’m still learning and adjusting, I was, and still am, nervous about eating on campus, especially with the threat of cross-contamination,” Mueller said. “Overall, I think the school does a good job with all of the gluten-free options they provide, but I’m still unsure about food preparation.”

Additionally, Mueller cited that her perspective of student dining had changed since her diagnosis, admitting that last year, she did not experience uncertainty about on-campus eateries.

“Last year I didn’t stress at all about food because I had no dietary restrictions,” Mueller said. “It’s a big change having to be extra mindful this year.”

However, changes to student dining have been made. Over the summer, the Culinary Institute of America partnered with USD Dining Services to train Pavilion Dining staff regarding dietary restrictions and vegan cooking. Loryn B. Johnson, the Marketing Director of Auxiliary Services, explained the improvements made during the summer, particularly in plant-based cooking.

“The Culinary Institute of America was just here in August and they did training for all of our full-time Pavilion Dining staff,” Johnson said. “It was a five-day training and one day was totally dedicated to plant-based cooking … we came up with some amazing dishes.”

Some more changes include vegan cheese and vegan meat toppings, in addition to a totally vegan pizza crust at Heirloom Cucina, as well as the nutritional yeast seasoning offered at the Clean Earth Kitchen personally provided by Mishka Romanski, the manager of Pavilion Dining.

Romanski expressed her dedication to helping students access delicious and suitable options for their dietary needs, and urged students encountering issues to reach out to Dining Services.

“If students have any suggestions of what else we can do to help make it easier for them, we want to know,” Romanski said.

Students can contact Dining Services to express concerns or learn about dietary options for their personal needs by emailing dining@sandiego.edu.