Braedens blog

Being in college is a difficult task. Stereotypically, most students are broke and do not have a job or any money to eat except for what the school provides in their meal plan. A common complaint among students is Morningside should make more on-campus food options due to dissatisfaction with what is currently available. 

The most common complaint is that the food is bland, unappealing, and does not taste good. With the complaints, it was noticed that many of the approximately 1600 students on campus would choose not to eat on campus or not to eat at all. Therefore, Morningside needs to bring more tasty food options, such as diffmnmbhjerent chain restaurants or local businesses. They can also create a system to eat at the on-campus restaurants or create more options, similar to prominent universities.w3e 

Big campuses like state schools and universities have multiple options to eat on or around campus and the school’s own cafes and restaurants. Alternatively, the school can make a system where college students and faculty can swipe their cards at local restaurants. The restaurants will likely be on board with that option because it brings in more of their target audience. It will also bring in more business to the restaurant. Morningside could even talk to local restaurants about a discount card for students to use at different restaurants for either discount items on the menu or even a free item or two. This will make the student body and staff much happier and be willing to remain on campus. Because of the money the school invests in the appearance of the school, they need to equally invest in the school food options to make the students happy and want to stay. Nevertheless, they did not just stay around campus but also wanted to return to Morningside. If you look online, the university only has a 52% graduation rate, which is not a success rate for a university. While there is not a list of reasons why it is so low, student satisfaction is easy to theorize as a reason. Satisfaction with all parts of the campus can very well include the food options.   

The first person I interviewed was Jake Evens. Jake is a senior, still lives on campus, and has been eating at the cafeteria and cafe for four years. When asked if he currently likes the cafe food, he laughed and said no. So he was followed up with how often he eats at the cafe vs. how often he eats out, and he said he eats they’re about the same amount. He eats there two times a week and eats out about two times a week.

Furthermore, he said that they needed to make more food options on campus, which was my next question, so the last question had to be replaced, and then I asked him what he would prefer the campus add for food. He said wings because whenever he eats out, he always gets wings. He suggested more options to the menu based on his preference.

The second person I interviewed was Michelle, an exchange student from Sweden, and she was not thrilled with the cafe food. When interviewed and asked if she liked the cafe food, she made a face and said, “you are joking, right.” Of course, I already knew the answer, which was no. She said she eats at the cafe three times a day and never goes out to eat. When asked what Morningside could do to add more attractive options, she suggested that they bring in more pizza, not overcook the vegetables, more sweet potatoes, and sometimes have sushi and some omelet in the mornings. Finally, when asked what Morningside could do to improve eating on campus, she said, “the food here is fine. There are options; however, it is super repetitive and becomes boring.” It is evident that some students would like a change in the variety of food they eat daily. 

Finally, the final person I interviewed is a recent graduate from Morningside, Kristene Honomichle. She is now a student at Dordt, but she went to Morningside for four years. When asked about her time here and the food she ate on campus, she also did not like the cafe food. She said she could only bring herself to eat there two times a week. This is because it was so bad there that she ultimately got a job and began eating alone. After all, it was cheap, and she treated herself to eating out once a week. When asked if Morningside should add more eating options, she said, “is that even a question? If they were to bring more things like Qdoba or Buffalo Wild Wings on campus, they would have so many customers”. Furthermore, since the school will not do that, she was asked what Morningside could do to improve eating on campus. She boldly responded, “Morningside needs to terminate their contract with Sodexo and stop just throwing meals together, and everyone would be happy.”

The interviews revealed that Morningside struck out three-for-three with unhappy students. A simple fix on the campus of bringing more local food options can provide improved variety, taste, and satisfaction amongst students and staff. This change can also support the surrounding community by generating revenue and providing everyone with more options.

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