For a university that prides itself on its justice to the community, attention is lacking for students at Loyola with dietary restrictions. Many say they are not content with the food offered on campus.

Loyola offers different dining options like the Orleans Room, Flambeaux’s, La Divina, Smoothie King and Dunbar’s. Although all of these dining options have healthy choices, there is not much variety to choose from for students with different dietary restrictions.

There are many students who are vegans and say they are not satisfied with the options on campus. Kelsey Finnegan, chemistry sophomore and vegan, said she wishes Dining Services would offer more convenient options for vegans.

“It is still hard to find a decent meal while on campus. I was surprised and happy, though, to discover that the C-Store has more organic options this year. Plus, Smoothie King has a list of vegan smoothies,” Finnegan said.

For many vegans on campus, convenience is also an issue. Although the Orleans Room offers a variety of vegan options, it isn’t always ideal for busy students or those who are on the run. However, there are students who think the dining options at Loyola should provide a wider selection of food and should take students with eating restrictions into consideration.

“I cannot find a salad in the C-Store that does not have cheese on it,” Finnegan said.

Many students with religious dietary restrictions said they think the Dining Services food could be improved. Mass communication senior and Muslim Student Association president Zaina Mansour follows Islamic dietary restrictions, such as eating halal, which requires followers to be conscious of how the meal was prepared.

“I like to eat organic food at a reasonable price, so usually, eating on campus isn’t the best choice for me. However, I do enjoy catfish Friday,” Mansour said. 

Often, students with dietary restrictions choose to bring food from home because they are not satisfied with what is offered on campus.

“Since I started eating halal, I usually bring something from home or go off campus to eat,” Mansour said.

Students with health restrictions say they have a hard time finding variety as well. Accounting senior Kevin Tran said he has to follow a strict diet to not worsen his eczema. Tran said he is unable to eat anything with yeast, including bread, soy sauce, tofu and pizza.

On campus, he said his options are few.

“All I could eat at school was fruit, salads without croutons, french fries and sushi without soy sauce,” Tran said.

One major concern not limited to students with dietary restrictions is that options were too costly for a student budget.

“The fruit costs too much and salad got repetitive after a while,” Tran said.

Heather Bacque, the Sodexo general manager at Loyola, said that while Dining Services does provide a variety of options, they are still looking to improve.

“We would like to encourage vegetarian and vegan students to tell us who they are so we can discuss items they would like to see in the Orleans Room,” she said.

Nhi Tieu can be reached at [email protected]