<p>I got severe food poisoning once while visiting bf at his school, knew EXACTLY what it was, and when he went down to tell them about it they just completely ignored him and didn’t even get rid of what I had eaten. I have not eaten anything there since. I’ve gotten food poisoning from every single eatery they have.</p>
<p>I think school food in general is plenty fine… I’m not one of those incredibly picky eaters who needs every meal to be on par with the best, but as long as there’s obviously nothing wrong with the food, I don’t see the big deal.</p>
<p>My son liked the food at the beginning of his freshman year, but was pretty sick of it by mid-year, so maybe variety can be a problem. He also told me that they all knew when visitors were on campus (i.e. accepted student days, sports recruits, visiting professors) because that’s when they served little extra things, like cream for coffee, an extra dessert, and better entrees.</p>
<p>When we were at a Vanderbilt Family Weekend, we attended an open discussion with school administrators. The dad of a student who was dissatisfied with the meal program stood up and asked why, at such a prominent, well-off school, dining should lag behind other student services. The chancellor called the head of dining services up to the podium, and he made a great point. He asked us each to think of our favorite restaurant - and then to imagine how we’d feel if we had to eat every meal there every single day. </p>
<p>I can’t get over the way dining services have improved since I was in college. There was one dining hall, and it was high school cafeteria food three times a day. Institutional, processed, gloppy. (Though it was there that I developed a taste for Diet Coke - okay, it was Tab then. I grew up in a house in which you had to run a fever of 101 to get a ginger ale. And colas? Never!)</p>
<p>My kids have attended both private and public unis. They started out pleased with their options, but tired of them fairly soon and used their flex points at nearby “real” restaurants quickly. It’s interesting to me that so many unis have on-campus restaurant franchises. Quizno’s, at the Student Center, is my youngest d’s enduring favorite.</p>
<p>The food at UVa is pretty bad especially for the price. My parents thought I was complaining because I was used to the food at home so I took them to the cafteria for parents weekend. There were three different types of dried up rigatoni. So my mom who was determined to make this work said “I will have the taco please.” The lady working the counter said “that is not taco meat it is squash.”</p>
<p>She ate a dried out sandwich on two day old bread while I ate a banana and an apple. Nearly $2000.00 per semester for 13 meals a week is steep. Especially when you consider that it only covers about 8 months per year. Now that I’m a second year I just skipped the meal plan completely and make my own food. I would have happily given all of the meals I didn’t eat to someone who could have used them. It was such a waste.</p>
<p>None of my children is yet in college, but I fear they will find the dining hall food an improvement over my cooking. I certainly thought the food at my college (which most people complained about) was far superior to my mother’s cooking. Must be genetic. Anyway, I recently had dinner at a friend’s home and her D, who was home from college for fall break, and a few of her HS friends who attend other colleges were there. Food was the #1 complaint of each and every one of them. They complained mostly about too much fried food, totally wilted salads and lack of fresh fruit.</p>
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beth’s mom: LOL! </p>
<p>If it were just an issue of size (all big schools are better, or whatever), it would make sense, but why, for instance, do the kids at Purdue rave about their choices while the kids at Illinois uniformly complain? Similar size, similar student bodies, similar tuition – but Purdue was able to set up the variety, the dining stations, etc. </p>
<p>As someone noted above, a school has to commit to changing the dining – I guess I just don’t see why everyone wouldn’t do that, pronto, unless it was financially unfeasible, but I’m still not getting why it would be when so much else changes on campuses – new Rec Centers and what have you.</p>
<p>Have to agree with vistany on the food at UVA. I’m tempted to ask D to do a journal of how/what she eats on Grounds and what she eats/spends on the Corner but it would be too depressing for words. Lots of money down the drain. That should be a task for the new President- improving the quality of food service for the students!</p>
<p>I think food is important, when a university has a mandatory food plan and meal costs average $8 per meal. Now that I’m searching for a school for my second child, we eat one meal in each college cafeteria. We have only found one really bad cafeteria, where we sampled each entree, as well as the pizza and dessert (only brownies were offered). Honestly, everything was bad. It was enough to cross it off the list (Well, that combined with the fact that there is a 70/30 girl guy ratio and second child is a girl.)</p>
<p>Harvard requires a full board plan. I believe the reason is that they feel the conversations that take place in the dining halls are a critical part of the experience and serve to nurture class and house camaraderie.</p>
<p>I was being factious on my MIL and DW cooking and getting sick. </p>
<p>I was not being factious when I said, I don’t complain about the food. The dog does not complain and eats what’s given. </p>
<p>Your DS incidence of food poisoning is very disturbing… and it is truly a public health issue or a digestive problem</p>
<p>As we have been looking at schools, we have been surprised at the wide variety of meal plans and quality etc of food service.</p>
<p>BU has an amazing food service program which our son liked.</p>
<p>As an athlete–he eats alot of high quality food here at home so standard of lving at school will be considered.</p>
<p>I asked about the food service on the MIT board and didn’t realize what a hornets nest I was stepping into–as MIT has a limited dinner plan and there is no full service swipe and eat meal plan.</p>
<p>A friend of ours has a fresh boy at MIT. He east breakfast in his room. Takes a bag lunch…and eith cooks for himself or goes to Subway or similar for dinner. So I was wondering about a life of poptarts and Subway…kwim. Fun for a day or two but not every day.</p>
<p>Our son attends a private school with an excellent food service. They have salad bar, burgers etc, sandwich options and 2-3 entress and sides as options daily…a far cry from the really really bad food service at the local hs (I substitute teach so I see alot)</p>
<p>As a family we eat a nice homecooked dinner at the table together 5-6 nights a week and cooking for me is a apssion…so my kids have a pretty sophisticated palate…and aren’t whiners about things. </p>
<p>We haven’t eaten at some of the colleges which will likely make up his short list–but will be revisiting every school and check it out so he knows what to expect.</p>
<p>I currently work at an [url=<a href=“Higher Ed Food Services | Aramark Collegiate Hospitality - Aramark”>http://www.aramarkhighered.com/]Aramark[/url</a>] school, have worked for a [url=<a href=“http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/environments/universities/universities.asp]Sodexo-Marriott[/url”>http://www.sodexousa.com/usen/environments/universities/universities.asp]Sodexo-Marriott[/url</a>] school in the past, and have also worked for schools that had independent dining services. None were perfect. Students at the schools with independent dining services complained just as much as the students at the schools that had dining handled by the two “big” companies.</p>
<p>Good reminder, Dean J. As humans, I guess we always find something to complain about :).</p>
<p>The food at my D’s school is pretty incredible - lots of choices and lots of healthy food choices. I think they are on a mission to compete with a nearby school that is consistently ranked in the top 2 in the country when it comes to food. The newest dining hall is a bit over the top with regard to choices. </p>
<p>With regard to re-occurring stomach problems, I would suspect a reaction to something being used on the food. There are preservatives and additives used to enhance flavor and improve appearance that cause diarrhea in some. These are very common in buffet type foods and salad bars since the items sit out for a long time.</p>
<p>I think it’s interesting, though, when you’re talking about the “big” food companies- JMU, like UVA, is an Aramark school. No comparison food-wise. All things considered though, I’d rather D suffer through the food her first year and attend UVA! And no offense intended to any JMU parents or students!</p>
<p>I don’t think the two big companies mandate uniform menus, but I have noticed similarities between Sohexo-Marriott schools and Aramark schools.</p>
<p>I’m not really the best source of info on this. I eat lunch a few times per week in one dining hall and I usually get sushi. That dining hall has deli, burrito, and smoothie stations along with a Pizza Hut and Chik-fil-A. I don’t eat at the “big” dining hall that is most popular with the students.</p>
<p>I’ll second what Wis75 said earlier about UW-Madison, but will add that for my D, it was a HUGE part of her decision of where to attend. She was a convert to Weight Watchers her junior year HS, and really wanted to continue on at college. She really dug the ‘pay-as-you-eat’ plan, and also the university link to the nutritional info on every item served by foodservice:</p>
<p>[Housing</a> Dining and Culinary Services – Nutrition](<a href=“http://www.housing.wisc.edu/dining/nutrition/]Housing”>http://www.housing.wisc.edu/dining/nutrition/)</p>
<p>Quite amazing, especially for a college with a 40,000 enrollment. Couple that with the oodles of ethnic eateries & foodcarts on campus, and she’s quite content, thank you. She works for WW up in Madison & plans to be a dietetics major.</p>
<p>BTW- the UW Union and Res Halls are independent of each other- beer sales won’t help the bottom line. The foodcarts et al on State St are technically off campus, but close enough for easy walking. During son’s summer orientation the students had lunch at a Union (there were two- the newer one is being redone) while we parents got better fare at a dorm dining hall.</p>
<p>DS has learned to identify a certain smell given off by the food he’s eating that he thinks is the culprit. He told me he just stopped eating the food with “that smell” and has had no problems. Don’t know if it’s an additive that bothers him or just poor food handling, but as long as he stays away from the food with the funny smell, he does okay. As others have pointed out, it’s frustrating to have to buy into a meal plan when the food doesn’t seem up to snuff. The money could be better spent on healthier food. To eat poorly-prepared or bad-tasting food doesn’t help starving people in any way. In fact, most kids probably throw away unsavory food which is a big waste of money. There is no sin in enjoying well-prepared, savory meals. The ingredients don’t need to be expensive - just prepared by someone with a talent for cooking.</p>