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March is National Nutrition Month. For this series of stories, Kent State Today interviewed people working in University Culinary Services about the many dining options available to students.

Sarah Korzan, MS, RD, LD, knows that for some first-year students, it may be their first time living away from home for long periods of time. As a registered and licensed dietitian and an assistant director of University Culinary Services, she wants to let students and their parents know that there are many nutritious, healthy and tasty dining options for students living on campus. “It’s just a matter of getting out there and finding what you like on campus and what you want to eat,” Korzan said.

Finding their favorites, she says, can also involve trying new things. “Students form dietary habits at home and continue expanding them through their college years,” said Korzan. “Our dining halls offer comfort food options and new, healthy items and global cuisines that students may not have seen or heard of before.” She advises parents to encourage their students to go beyond their usual “go-to” comfort food choices and explore these new-to-them options. “The all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities are the perfect environment for trying items, as they can ask for small portions, in case they find they do not like the new food they are trying.”

More feedback creates more options

“Probably some of the biggest myths we hear from students is that we don’t have enough options,” said Korzan. “I think we have worked very diligently to put out a really good menu mix.” Plus, she said that since University Culinary Services took over dining operations from a third-party vendor, they have been able to respond to student feedback more quickly. “The big thing last year is that students said that they wanted more fresh fruit options,” she said. “We put them in, and they are now available 24-7 at our all-you-care-to-eat facilities. They wanted two vegetables options at every station, because it seemed that they weren’t finding the veggies they liked. So, we added that.”

“We do enjoy hearing student feedback, and the only way that we can really get them what they want is if they tell us. We can change our menu daily if we need to, to help students find what they’re looking for.”

Many tasty choices

On any given day, the two all-you-care-to-eat dining halls on campus, at Eastway Center and Design Innovation Dining at the DI Hub, offer meals from different serving stations. These stations include a salad bar and a fruit bar, and there is a station that is primarily plant-forward, offering vegan options. There is one station called “The Home Zone” that offers “home cooking” like meatloaf, mac and cheese, and chicken parmesan. The DI Hub location also has a made-to-order breakfast station that serves omelets, pancakes and French toast. In the afternoon it changes to a rotating made-to-order menu. Other rotating options include a taco bar and a baked potato bar. “Students love baked potato bar day,” said Korzan.

Eastway Center features a rotating build-your-own station that can be a taco bar, a ramen bar or offer other options. There is also a “Chipotle-style” rice bowl station, with different kinds of rice, multiple proteins (including a plant-based option), and vegetable and fruits for toppings.

Both dining facilities offer classic grill options, like burgers, chicken and fries, plus pizza and a dessert station.

The gluten solution

There’s also a gluten solutions station that offers gluten-friendly food, made without any gluten-containing ingredients. Gluten friendly is different that gluten free. “I always explain to parents and students that ‘gluten friendly’ means that there is nothing with gluten on that entire station and it has its own equipment. Our staff members are well trained. I do all of the training for food safety and allergens myself,” said Korzan. “But the station does share a back-of-house facility, and gluten can technically hang in the air for up to 24 hours, which means we cannot call it certified ‘gluten free’.”

Late-night dining and beyond

If students are looking for a late-night bite, there’s Rosie’s Diner, in the Tri-Towers residence hall complex. It features homemade salads that students can assemble themselves, deli subs, pizza and more. “So, there’s that option, plus the more traditional ‘home cooking’ at the all-you-care-to-eat facilities. So, there’s always the best of both worlds. We have plenty of options, both within our facilities and across campus.”