What if you walked into the dining hall not knowing if there would be more than a couple food options for you that day? Not just food that was enjoyable, not just food that was visually appealing, but food you could actually eat. This is the reality for many students at UNCW. Students who have to accept that the options campus provides for those with dietary restrictions pales in comparison to options provided for other students.

On UNCW Dinning’s Instagram they promoted going “meatless” on Mondays with this caption: “With over 30% vegan and vegetarian options across campus, we’re here to help make mindful choices for a healthier you and a more sustainable future!”⁣ These options can be found at the dining halls and as Teal Meals. The average freshman family is paying between $2,154 and $2,670 for a required meal plan. Freshmen living on campus are required to purchase a meal plan. For students who can only eat 30% of the options here, this gap is disparaging.

Options at the dining hall include meals that can be made without meat or salad options. Vegetarians do not want food that is less flavorful because they chose not to get meat.  Even more frustrating and insulting is the amount of salad options. Having a salad bar in every dining hall is not accommodating for vegetarians. Every station, without fail, should have a meal especially designed for vegetarians.

It is no secret to vegetarian students that options at dining halls are inconsistent and vary. During the fall semester, there was no vegetarian pasta option at Wagoner Dining Hall. Oftentimes there was no vegetarian option that was advertised at Revolve Kitchen, located in Wagoner. This means that vegetarian options for dinner included a salad, cheese pizza, vegan nuggets and fries, a veggie burger or something from True Balance 2.0. Five options, not including dessert. It is notable that Wagoner has added a new vegetarian pasta option this semester, however the vegan nuggets have been removed from the rotation at Under the Hood. Shore is also equipped with a salad bar but does tend to provide more vegetarian options. Rylie Estep, a vegan student struggles to find options at Shore as well, “Shore has never been good to me, it’s just like rice and beans. Sandwich options are weird because it’s just lettuce and tomato.”

Possibly the most vegetarian friendly dining hall is Dubs. Unfortunately Dubs hours are limited compared to the other dining halls. Dubs closes at 3 p.m. on Friday’s and stays closed through the weekend. However, Dubs notably has multiple vegetarian options that rotate each week and offers choices like cauliflower wings (my new favorite) and a greasy grilled cheese. Of course, Dubs is also equipped with a salad bar.

Teal Meals are another disappointing waste of money for vegetarian students. Teal Meal options are readily available on the GrubHub app, allowing any student to clearly see the lack of options for vegetarian students. Teal Meals designed with vegetarians in mind should be found at every restaurant available, however Chick-Fil-A does not offer a suitable option and Alpaca Chicken simply offers a “Veggie Plate.” While both of these restaurants have a form of the word “chicken” in their name, it is realistic that more suitable options could be provided to be inclusive of all students. Chick-Fil-A’s regular off campus menu includes items like salads and mac and cheese that could be made into Teal Meals. UNCW selected which restaurants to have on campus, and Teal Meal options should have choices for all students who are required to purchase a meal plan. Other restaurants’ Teal Meal options represent UNCW’s claims of having 30% vegetarian options, meaning students will see one vegetarian Teal Meal per three options. These places include Shaka Taco, Alpaca and Mooyah. Multiple vegetarian Teal Meals can be found at Einstein Bros. Bagels, Subway and Heirloom. Panda Express offers one Teal Meal that can be customized multiple ways, however after asking students about Teal Meal options many students have found them to be low on tofu often.

Audrey Zelenka is a freshman living on campus who was required to purchase a meal plan. Zelenka shares her experience trying to find healthy vegetarian options on campus, “I know choosing to be vegetarian is putting a restriction on myself, but I feel like the school could do a better job providing healthy—keyword healthy—vegetarian options. It’s a lot of filling food, especially the vegetarian options are just filling but not healthy.” Zelenka, who also lives with a tree nut allergy, expressed that vegetarian options run low often, “I think half the time I go to the dining halls at least one of the vegetarian options is not available or not stocked. I haven’t been to Panda Express once when they have tofu available.”

30% of meals is not enough for students who are paying full price. It should not be inconvenient to feed vegetarian students. It is also not enough for students to live off salads. An Alpaca Chicken Veggie Plate is not a meal compared to the other Teal Meals available. A salad bar in every dining hall is not enough. Limited options do not make students feel seen. Limited options make students anxious about what they’ll be able to eat at a dining hall.

Estep is not able to sufficiently get her meals at UNCW alone, “I have to pay for a dining plan and spend $30 a week at the grocery store. If I knew the options before I wouldn’t have gotten it. If I agree to the dining plan, give me the right options or let me spend the money on groceries.” Estep shared that her vegetarian friends stopped eating a vegetarian diet a couple months after coming to UNCW, “It wasn’t possible for my friends to continue the diet with the options available. They didn’t have cars or the money to be spending on groceries on top of the dining plan. It is disappointing because the options have caused people to deviate from their personal dietary decisions.” Estep wishes that the dining halls provided more basics, and more salad options.

Due to the lack of vegetarian options, I have made a habit of double checking that food does not contain meat in it. This is partly due to the poor labeling of food, and also due to the constantly changing options. Last week, when asking an employee if beans at a dining hall had meat in them, they did not know. I stood there, holding up the line while they asked three other employees, all of which did not know. The constantly changing menu has led to employees not knowing what is in the food which then led to four employees having to be asked. Employees need to be prepared to answer questions for students with dietary restrictions. UNCW also advertises that they will prepare food per student’s individual needs. This is not true. Last semester I was told “no” multiple times when asking if I could get a bowl of plain, meatless pasta.

Being vegetarian is not simply a choice. Like any other dietary restriction, many people are vegetarian for health reasons. For those who have been vegetarian for years, eating meat could cause harm and illness. It is not fair to expect students to be content with being able to eat 30% of food options. It is not fair to assume 30% is an appropriate number either. Like many other N.C. college campuses, ECU offers a variety of vegetarian options which includes veggie fajitas on the menu.

It is time for UNCW to offer enough vegetarian options that are worth bragging about on Instagram. As students paying for meal plans, we don’t want salads every day. We want thoughtful, intentional dishes meant to be eaten by everyone. While the vegetarian population of students is nowhere near that of meat-eating students, there is no reason meatless dishes have to only be for vegetarian students. Students looking to expand their plates would also benefit from more options. While vegetarians may be a minority on campus, it is important that they are able to eat safely and comfortably in the dining hall. Having more vegetarian options means having more options for everybody.

UNCW’s Registered Dietitian Joseph Bush did not respond to a request for a sit-down interview.