Eat the Right Thing

New food options on campus help students make healthy choicesby Lucy Pichardo.City College students love to eat--in class, in the halls, outside, anywhere. However, most CCNY students eat unhealthily. According to the Tufts Longitudinal Health Study, 59 percent of college students know their good eating habits have declined since starting college. More than 60 percent of college students consume too much saturated fat, which is found in all fast food.But students at CCNY now have some new healthy options. The Bare Planet Cafe, recently reopened after being closed for repairs, is helping CCNY students eat better.One of its newer offerings is sushi, which will also be available soon at Asian Moon in the NAC Cafeteria. The selection includes tuna rolls and the ever-popular California roll. Prices range from $4 to almost $7."Vegetarians now have a place to come and eat their lunch," says one of the cafe's workers.Bare Planet also has a salad bar and their most popular selection, the noodle bar. Students can choose their lettuce or noodles, and add toppings, including croutons, cheese and a selection of proteins. Toppings range from $.75 to $1.00. You can also get sandwiches, pastries, paninis and breakfast options like cereal and yogurt. As far as drinks, you can choose from a full array of coffee along with a variety of teas.The improvements come as a relief following the cafeteria's C- grade from the New York City department of health last year. After the low grade, some were reluctant to go to the cafeteria. “I was more cautious of what I would eat,” says Nita Gulpan, a psychology major. “I still worry but with my tight schedule, I don’t have time to eat off campus.”Since then, CCNY has been working hard to ensure the cafeteria is clean and up to par. A Food Service Advisory Committee, made up of students, faculty and staff, meet once a month to discuss issues and upgrades.“We brought up the standards considerably,” says Bill Mueller, director of food services at CCNY. “We follow all the safety procedures everyday; we make sure that gloves are worn, the temperatures are correct, that the food is changed on a regular basis.” Since the committee has been formed, the grade has changed to a solid B.While the CCNY cafeteria improves, some things will change. Mueller says food services is open to ideas.“Most of the time, students use the comment cards in the cafeteria or even come up to me to suggest new items," he says. "We try to work with their suggestions to give the students what they’d like to eat.”