Campus Dining food items’ nutritional values vary, necessitates moderation

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Each day, thousands of students are served breakfast, lunch and dinner in each of the four on campus residential restaurants.

While eating the mass produced food, one bit of important information can slip a student’s mind — the nutritional facts of what is being consumed.

“We strive to bring in healthier choices; however, there will always be more indulgent items on the menu because they are also in high demand,” said Nikki Smith, marketing manager for Campus Dining, in an e-mailed statement. “Our menu is designed to meet the needs of all dining lifestyles. It is our goal to educate guests on health awareness and allow them to make their own decisions.”

The 9-ounce popcorn chicken wrap served in the residential restaurants contains 684 calories, according to Campus Dining’s website. In comparison, fast food chain McDonald’s 8.7 ounce Southern Style Crispy Chicken Sandwich contains 400 calories.

The wrap contains 38 grams of fat, compared to 17 in McDonald’s sandwich. The wrap also contains 1,677 milligrams of sodium.

The McDonald’s chicken sandwich has a bun while CMU’s has tortilla shell. Campus Dining’s sandwich contains cheese and dressing ingredients and McDonald’s sandwich does not.

If scaled down to 4.2 ounces, the same size as McDonald’s Honey Mustard Chicken Snack Wrap, Campus Dining’s wrap was comparable in nutrition to the fast food chain, Smith said.

The fat content for Campus Dining’s wrap measures at 16 grams compared to 15 for McDonald’s. Likewise, the number of calories are comparable at 294 and 330, respectively.

Pleasant Ridge senior Samm Wunderlich, who is a vegetarian, said the residential restaurants are not accommodating in vegetarian options.

Although soy burgers are commonly offered, Wunderlich said, too much soy is unhealthy and contains a large amount of estrogen.

“There’s also a lot of pizza, pasta and almost always carbs,” she said. “Not a lot of healthy (vegetarian) options.”

Making good decisions

Mount Pleasant nutritionist Tricia Ruth reviewed the menus from each of the four cafeterias and found there were items high in fat, sodium and calories, but healthy alternatives were also offered.

“Many students who come to CMU have never before made all of their own meal choices,” Ruth said.

Ruth’s advice to students was to eat in moderation.

“If you have a high fat omelet for breakfast one day, the next day choose oatmeal,” she said.

Ruth said it is not what you eat in one single day that makes the difference, but what you eat over time.

Feedback is encouraged from all students regarding Campus Dining, Smith said. There are comment cards located at multiple stations in the cafeterias, as well as online comment cards.

With so many of the food items being high in fat, calories, cholesterol, sodium and carbs, students must make decisions now that will either positively or negatively affect the rest of their lives, Ruth said.

“College students are not too young to develop heart disease or obesity, both of which a high-fat, high-calorie diet contributes to,” she said.

Nutrition information can be found at www.campusdish.com.