By Joseph Martinez

SERVING STUDENTS (Chris Ullyott)

By Joseph Martinez

Students on the Riverside Campus have options for on campus meals; breakfast lunch and dinner are available in the cafeteria. The cafeteria serves a wide range of meals throughout the day.

The campus has a full breakfast and lunch grill where full plates are served hot. Students order up their own plate; many of the items are cooked in front of students.

The cafeteria often fills to capacity for breakfast, which begins at 7 a.m., and remains full through lunch, which opens at 10:45, and until the late afternoon, serving as a makeshift study area, or for student socializing.

Lunch options include the sandwich shop inside the cafeteria, which serves a variety of hot or cold sandwiches that are made in front of you to your order. There are also daily specials made to your order; typically there is rice and many other small sides, combined to make a meal. Dinner includes most of the lunch items.

However, the expense of dining on campus every leads many students to bring their own food with them. Student Justin Gray mentioned that he would welcome an expanded hot food menu of “one dollar and under items, and also more soups would be enjoyable.”

There are no plans to expand the cafeteria menu, as Assistant Director of Food Services Mary Black said, but the Student Senate is asking for cheese pizza to be added to the menu.

The food that is served at the cafeteria is fresh, cooked the same day, usually right before the aforementioned meal times begin. James Morier, who works in the kitchen, describes the cooking practices and the care that goes into it.

“There is a high turnover rate of the items for order in the cafeteria,” Morier said, referring to the rate at which each item is ordered within the hour.

“The cooks cook everything on demand, that way less is thrown out and you won’t have day old food,” he said. There are other spots on campus where students can pick up food. At Lovekin complex, there is the food trailer which serves a variety of food items, which are mostly on-the-go snack items. Hot coffee drinks are served there, along with fountain drinks. There are also some hot food items, such as nachos and hot dogs. The food trailer is meant to serve students at the Lovekin complex, and is seen by most as a direct answer to the closure of the Tigers Den in the old A.G Paul Quadrangle.

The food selection at the food trailer is similar to what there is available at the Bookstore. What are mostly served are snack items, along with chilled pre-made sandwiches and some microwaveable food items. Hot water is also available for instant coffee drinks.

On campus dining is an active possibility for students, and while some students enjoy the option, there are other students who treat it as an auxiliary, as student Jason Coleman describes.

“If you eat at RCC, you usually just pick up a snack, like an on-the-go item, and have your meals at home,” he said.