Epicurean Distress?

<p>Haverford seems to be just about perfect in every way imaginable except for food. A look at the Haverford College ******* (a self proclaimed “college reality guide” series) reports the fighting Quakers are fighting with unhappy stomachs (the ******* gives Haverford a D+ for food). What’s the problem with the food? What do Fordian’s do about it? Are there any plans to address the issue?</p>

<p>Don't know if Haverford students can eat at Bryn Mawr. If so, note that the college dining halls at Bryn Mawr are often ranked among the best in the country.</p>

<p>All Haverford students can eat and Bryn Mawr Dining Halls and vice-versa. Same goes for Swarthmore (the Tri-Co wouldn't work very well if you were taking a class at another school but were starving for lunch if you did). Bryn Mawr is run by the same dining services company as Haverford and they have the nearly identical menus with the exception of Haffner's Dining hall. </p>

<p>Breakfast, Lunch and Brunch are all fine at Haverford. Dinner is always the problem because (1) we have one dining center that serves ALL of the 900 or so students on the meal plan (2) within that group of people, many different eating interests (3) a very limited food budget. As a result, dinner food can sometimes be underspiced, boring, and drab. The DC staff is amazing is about taking suggestions and input about problems with food. They've also done a lot to give you alternative options all the time, i.e. a salad bar, pasta bar, sandwich bar, the George Foreman grills. I wouldn't say Haverfood is great, and I won't deny the fact that I do order out for dinner a fair amount. However, I think that with the funding the the DC works with, they do the best job they can at giving us a balanced meal.</p>

<p>1) HC is far from perfect... such as with the student run honor code, problems with interculturalism, opportunities for the perfoming arts and relative endowment size... but it's these challenges that make students have to think hard about important issues and become resourceful and creative, respectively. </p>

<p>2) You have to question any webpage whose title is censored. Many people post on internet chat sites and it's more fun and easy to b1tch than to give a balanced opinion. When you visit, you should ask students and try the food and see for yourself. </p>

<p>3) In speaking with current students, the food is generally ok/good but occasionally, it is fair/bad and othertimes it's quite good. When I was a student, the "peaches and pork" made a weird fear-factor dinner entree that I dared never try. Napkin notes, where students write compliments or recommendations/ requests to John (the manager of the dining center) is often effective. HC also provides a huge array of spices, herbs and condiments for students to experiment with... so if the indonesian soup is a little bland... just add some sesame oil, chili powder, salt and lemon juice (all provided).</p>

<p>HC Alum - I think the reason for the CC censorship was my use of the companies name in my post. I didn’t realize that would be a problem. I see their point in not wanting this forum to become a marketing tool.</p>

<p>The D+ on food at Haverford was from a college review series that I think is fairly reputable. It sells reviews based on compiled results from a lot of interviews of kids going to each school. They cover a lot of topics they think prospective students would be interested in such as academics, food, neighborhood, dorms, safety, etc. Haverford does pretty well on everything except food. </p>

<p>Squirrel85 - Thanks for the feedback. What’s the George Forman grill?</p>

<p>I was surprised to read that Haverford and Bryn Mawr employ the same dining services, because between the two schools, the general concensus is that, on the whole, Bryn Mawr's food is pretty good, and Haverford's is abysmal. My D, who is enrolled at Bryn Mawr said that students from "the Ford" often eat at Bryn Mawr when they can arrange it in their schedule for just that reason.</p>