Pollock Dining Hall: How About An Organic Night?

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Pollock Dining Hall will soon be holding its Nutcracker Holiday Dinner, providing students with holiday fare not normally served at Penn State. Though a nice gesture, I wonder why such events are exclusive to holidays. After all, Pollock has many other reasons for specialty dinners, including raising awareness of organic and locally-grown food. If the hall puts extra effort into holidays, can’t it exert some extra effort to aid in the ethical consumption of food?

Pollock's salad bar during dinner
Taken by Sam Galambos

Pollock , with its varied buffet, meets the needs of many students’ diets. It satisfies the healthy eater with two large salad bars and a stir-fry station, whereas those with a sweet tooth enjoy the confections in Swirl. However, the dining hall fails to provide the ethical eater with many options. Granted, it offers tofu-based synthetic meat and other vegan-oriented meals, it neglects other aspects of food ethics- especially the issues of food miles and organic foods.

Pollock must find some way to address these issues. As the student body- like much of the nation- grows more ecologically conscious, the demand for ethical food options in dining halls can only increase. Efforts to meet this demand should, hence, be taken as quickly as possible. If successful, these actions will improve not only the customer satisfaction of the hall, but also its public image. In the shadow of the recent scandal, a more eco-friendly and health-conscious dining hall will present the school in a progressive light. This process involves multiple options, each of which are beneficial and easy to implement.

1.Organic Food Night:

             From its traditional holiday fare served at the upcoming Nutcracker Holiday Meal to lobster dinners, Pollock already hosts many themed dinners. At the Nutcracker Holiday Meal the dining commons plans to serve eggnog and other yuletide dishes not normally offered. Instead of limiting its options to these specialty meals, the hall should include meals devoted to the interests of the conscientious consumer. During these unique meals, they should serve organic and locally raised food.
             By doing so, this would help support local agriculture and please concerned students. It almost certain that Pollock would receive a boost in patrons for these events and a consequent raise in awareness for locally raised, organic food. If Pollock can already adapt their system for holidays, surely, they can do the same for good causes.

Clearly one wasn't enough.
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2.Organic Food Stations

In addition to organic food nights, Pollock can devote a station to organic or local food. One of the main benefits of a buffet is variety, and an organic and local food station would only add to this variety. Currently, Pollock has two identical salad bars- two identical salad bars-, greatly detracting from its prided goal of variety.
At least one of these stations can be adapted to serving organic or local food. Adding new fruit would result in minimal issues, because half of the salad bar contains fruit as it is. Moreover, if for some reason, Pollock cannot survive without two salad bars, it can set up temporary organic stations, much like the waffle stations available only at breakfast. Though not a constant option, even an occasional, temporary organic food station helps.


3. Local Vendors in Dining Halls

Room for local vendors? I think so!
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Another option involves allowing local farmers and vendors to sell food in and near the dining halls. This way, students can meet the people responsible for their food, allowing them increased knowledge of where their food comes from and what it contains. Farmers, in turn, benefit from direct communication with consumers and increased awareness of local agribusiness. By being in or near dining halls, farmers intersect the path of many hungry students, possibly resulting in more sales. If set up in dining halls themselves, vendors can work in conjunction with the university to receive a portion of the entry cost. Specialty entrees, such as lobster, already require students to pay slightly more. The same principle can be applied to local farm vendors operating in the hall. The extra student cost could be allocated to the farmers. By locating themselves where students eat, local farmers make their products more accessible to the students than at a farmers’ market, helping to meet the consumption goals of both students and vendors.

4. Grab and Go at Convenience Stores

             Similar to the third option, this plan involves a related scenario; instead, it is based upon a conjunction with campus-run convenience stores. Since produce is sold raw, some is not immediately edible. In dining halls, this could cause difficulties, because, there, students consume rather than prepare. Though limited to serving prepared foods in dining halls, vendors could sell other products in convenience stores. There, students could buy organic and local foods in bulk and save the products for a later date, free to prepare and eat them as they please. Also, by setting up stands in convenience stores, local vendors allow time-constrained students to enjoy fresh local produce as well. Like the dining halls, these vendors could also receive profits in conjunction with the university through MealPoints or LionCash- depending on where they set up.

             All in all, Pollock already provides healthy and vegetarian food options. It is a disservice to the student body that it does not provide organic and local food. Any of the above options could promote change. Even incremental gains help. As the desire for more ethical food options increases, these improvements will be increasingly necessary. Using the above options, Pollock can start making changes now.

-Chris