It’s 2:30 pm, and I’m gearing up for five more hours at Camosun’s Lansdowne campus. My stomach is growling, and while there are still students hanging out in the cafeteria, it’s been closed for 30 minutes. I get to my class and bring this up with my teacher, who reassures me that it’s only closing early this first week of school; usually, it’s open from 8 am to 6 pm Mondays to Thursdays, with the grill closing at 4:30 pm. On Fridays, the closing time remains at 2 pm.
The bookstore is open until 4 pm, and I get to choose between my go-to protein shake or some beef jerky. These are the only “healthy” and somewhat nourishing options I find there. I prefer my instant noodles with eggs and veggies, and avoid nuts with unnecessary seed oils. I can’t really complain, because if the bookstore had been closed, I would have had to resort to the vending machines full of $4 corn-syrup snacks and drinks.
Which brings me to my next point: pricing. I constantly grunt and sigh when I find myself buying overpriced coffee and food on campus. And that’s compared to the already overpriced grocery stores and coffee shops outside of school.
Students have to pay what amounts to a convenience tax for food that isn’t convenient at all. I struggle to find things I want to eat in the afternoon (burgers and fries don’t cut it for me), and the preferred options sell out early. I’m left to choose between unhealthy options I’d like to avoid and the pricey falafel or chicken wraps that I wish were more affordable.
Meanwhile, while I was attending the Interurban campus, I was having lamb shank with mashed potatoes and veggies for the same price as the Sysco burger and fries I get at Lansdowne. I get it: the Culinary students are only at the Interurban campus, but even then, the Interurban campus has options like the Chargers Cafe, which, although pricey, does a better job at making greasy fast food, and there’s a freaking salad bar in the Alex & Jo Campbell Centre for Health and Wellness. What type of protest do I have to spark up to get a salad bar at Lansdowne?
Why does one campus get a cafeteria with real food while the other is a captive market for Aramark, a corporation totally separate from Camosun? And, yeah, I get it: the school is having financial troubles and can’t do much about it right now. But still, the lack of food is not just a bummer—it’s a retention issue. If students prefer online classes over going to campus, the college loses the “vibrant campus life” angle that it uses to recruit potential students.
Should the school not place greater emphasis on education and the well-being of its students rather than Aramark’s shareholders’ profit? Why are they prioritizing a hands-off contract over student affordability?
What happened to the student-run food truck that used to come to campus? The school may not be able to afford its own cafeteria, but it can surely afford to bring the student food truck back, or to let local businesses park on the grass for a small fee (or no fee) to provide variety.
At the moment, the solution seems to be packing a lunch, making coffee at home, and avoiding late-afternoon classes that don’t leave a window for a quick trip to get food.
Students don’t need a midnight buffet, but they do need the school to lower the barrier for local food trucks and vendors to give us more variety in affordability and food options. It needs to provide healthier vending options (please—anything but candy and Coca-Cola). And it needs to commit to more affordable and health-conscious food options.