Smith encourages healthy dining

As a result of growing concern for obesity on college campuses, a number of Massachusetts schools, including UMass-Amherst, have recently begun to encourage healthier dining. According to a Boston Globe article, 25 percent of college students gain around 10 pounds in their first semester. But in recent years, the notorious "freshman 15" has become the "freshman 30." To combat this, colleges are using healthier ingredients, serving more vegetables, serving smaller portions and listing calorie counts of dishes.

"I would say that to have a quality dining program, college food service directors need to be serious regarding the food choices, food quality and provide healthy choices at all meals," Director of Dining Services Kathy Zieja said. "We know that students want something quick but fresh and healthy. At Smith we strive to offer variety with our entrees as well as healthy choices on the salad bar."

According to Zieja, Smith has purchased the software necessary to display nutrition information for the menus on the dining Web site. Not only will students be able to see the menus, but they will also be able to check the nutritional content of the meals.

Another significant change has been a reduction in the amount of sweet desserts served at mealtimes from last year. Instead, these desserts have been replaced with more fruit. Smith encourages students to think about the nutrition of their meals. Protein alternatives are available, the salad bar is always kept fresh and locally produced vegetables are purchased whenever possible. Smith tries not to use already prepared food. In fact, most of the food is made from scratch.

Despite the downward change in the economy, Smith has had a modest increase in the food budget for this year.

Still, students are concerned about a possible change in the quality of dining.

"I think they're cutting in the wrong places," Christine Yeh '12 said. "I think with the amount we're paying for room and board, we should get a certain quality of food. For Grab & Go at Hubbard, we haven't had fruit every day, and we don't get cereal anymore."

Dining Services tries to incorporate a variety of menu options, constantly looking at magazines and other sources, said Zieja. They are always examining ways to improve menus. Still, students are not always happy with the menu choices.

"I'm a really picky eater, so I feel like often I end up eating a lot of carbohydrates or a lot of salad," Bonnie Paige '10 said. "I think that it's sort of a trade-off because schools with centralized dining can offer more choices, but it's less personal. Even when it's not perfect, it would be very tricky to solve."

Jessica Gutierrez '12 believes that certain menus shouldn't be restricted to some houses on campus.

"I feel like the food sometimes isn't as nutritious as other places. Gillett usually does a good job with their food," Gutierrez said. "However, I think other dining halls need to expand on their food type, because most of their diverse cuisines are found in the Quad. It's harder to walk to the Quad once it gets colder."

To better serve student tastes and nutritional needs, Smith depends on student feedback. Dining Services solicits student responses through e-mail and comment cards. Zieja said that overall, students are generally satisfied with the food, which can be seen from the positive e-mail feedback.

According to Zieja, this feedback is taken seriously and is frequently reviewed. Smith can then tweak menus to adjust to students' preferences.

If there are days when students have a negative response to the food, Dining Services takes note of them. Zieja does recognize that there may be days that don't go exactly as planned. Sometimes, dining halls run out of food. To prevent this, students are required to present their Onecards to eat, since Dining Services depends on these meal counts to order food.

However, Dining Services must also avoid overproducing so food is not wasted. By checking menu popularity and batch cooking, or cooking food to order as the meal comes to an end, rather than letting the food sit in the dining room, food waste is decreased. Also, how the food is presented and served influences choice and eliminates waste.

Zieja says that Smith is always willing to improve student dining.

"I think we are very fortunate that we have a great management team and cooks," Zieja said.