Concord Dining: Options for Alternative Dietary Lifestyles

There are many different reasons for abstaining from meat. Vegetarianism and veganism  can be because of environmental reasons, allergic reasoning, religious rights, health concerns, animal rights activism and more. Maintaining such diets as these can feel restricting when it comes to easy and quick options especially on a college campus with the budget and time of a college student. However, it is becoming more and more accessible as more options become available. Did you know that there are now options for vegans and vegetarians at every eatery on campus?

     Almost all Starbucks drinks can be made vegan by substituting cow’s milk with soy, coconut, or their new almond milk. Also be sure to ask for your drink without whipped cream. Subway of course offers made to order salads as well as their veggie delight sub. And Wingspan also has made to order salads as well as offering a Boca burger substitution for regular patties. They also have fries, sweet potato fries, ribbon fries, and mozzarella sticks, but they are fried in the same oil as their animal products. They will be updating their menu in the spring adding items to suit the needs of students according to Nikki Dubord, the Retail Manager of Wingspan. But maybe the most interesting thing that students have access to is the Campus Dish.

     The Campus Dish is an online menu, meal calculator, and more. The Campus Dish is accessible to both Concord students and the general public by simply going to Concord’s website and clicking on Resident Life. Go to Dining and Menus and click View Menu. Once there, you can find complete menus for the entire week and almost half a month in advance. Featured there is also complete nutrition facts for every dish. There are symbols next to the names of each dish to symbolize if the dish is vegetarian, vegan, and more, such as low fat, a good source of calcium, or has less than ten grams of fat. This is a huge resource to anyone with food allergies as well, because every dish lists all of its ingredients. 

    According to Lori Keaton, the Production Manager at Aramark’s Concord University location, every food item that is available in the cafeteria is listed except for sodas. However, they too will be listed when they update their website this January. Another resourceful feature of the Campus Dish is the meal calculator. Utilizing this is as easy as clicking the checkbox next to the menu item you would like to select. Just check off every entrée and side dish you want to eat, and the website keeps a running total of your complete nutrition facts such as calories, sodium, sugars, protein, and more. 

    The Campus Beautiful has a cornucopia of options for vegetarians and vegans. Whether you want to grab coffee at Starbucks or a Veggie Delight at Subway, more and more options are being added to menus. The Campus Dish is a huge resource to anyone who plans on eating in the cafeteria, even if you only use it to see when they will be serving your favorite meal. The meal calculator keeps a running total of your entire meal, and the symbols to represent vegetarian and vegan options make picking a meal that suits your needs easier than ever. And they have various options for vegetarians and vegans beyond a salad bar. Such foods include a Spicy Vegetable Lo Mein, Vegetable Lasagna, Cavatappi, Aloo Gobi, Hearty Lentil and Potato Soup, Sweet Tomato Soup, and more. In every aspect, the Campus Dish goes above and beyond the call of duty for Concord Students.