I spend the majority of my Bomber Bucks on Ithaca Bakery. Do I also have 5 swipes a week for the dining hall? Yes, but I have not stepped foot in there since the start of the semester. Food on campus within the past three years has gotten better but still lacks the appeal to eat it every day. I signed up for the commuter plan — with a few swipes per week and $400 in Bomber Bucks — thinking I would try the dining halls again. After being there once, I changed my mind and never went again. Probably should’ve just uploaded Bomber Bucks instead. 

I can make better and healthier foods on my own time. Or, I can just spend another $15 on coffee and a sandwich from Ithaca Bakery. 

In past years, I did eat at the dining hall. Starting with Sodexo my first year was a mess — so much so that students tried to find humor in the grossness of the food by starting Snapchat and Instagram accounts posting the worst of it. I never ate anything that was THAT bad, but other students got pink chicken or an additional bug in their meals, or worse. My meals consisted more of either extremely salted vegetables or ones with no seasoning at all. Or rice with who knows what was added to it. 

After my first year, the college switched from Sodexo to a new provider. I guess it’s better, but still not great. At least the vegan chicken tenders and mac and cheese taste good. There are still limited options for my picky taste and I haven’t eaten in a dining hall more than a few times since 2019. I have always looked for fresh fruits and veggies and maybe a protein that doesn’t look a few days old, but often I would not really find that. The dining hall lacked sufficient healthy options other than those sad looking foods. Eating mostly vegetarian, I looked for alternatives but never found anything more than frozen tofu at the salad bar. 

Instead, I put time aside at home to go grocery shopping and make food for myself. It requires much more work than swiping into the dining hall, but eating food that I actually enjoy is worth it. 

If anything, I would solely recommend campus’ chocolate chip cookies.