Lately there has been a push by students for more fresh produce in the Central Market Place and C-Store because of the desire to be able to cook healthy meals from their dorm rooms.

Steven Walsh, senior elementary education major, has lived on campus for three years and sees the need for more fresh options.

“I think the SURC should have more fresh produce because it’s the basic building block of a lot of different recipes,” Walsh said. “There are times where I’d rather make my own meals, and having fresh veggies would help.”

Students are always on the go, and sometimes it’s faster to grab something to bring to class. Central Group Fitness Instructor Elainna Jordan said if there were more fresh options, it would be easier to make healthy choices.

“Eating at the SURC makes it difficult; you either eat too much bad food, or not enough,” Jordan said. “More options make it easier for students to grab something healthy in between classes.”

Jordan said there are not enough healthy options for nutritional guidelines to be met because the healthy food is gone before the afternoon.

“Nutritional guidelines say that there are three to six servings of fruit a day,” Jordan said. “It’s extremely hard to meet this because the fruit is used up by the morning and it’s not available to everybody, which is the biggest issue.”

Since there has been such a push for more fresh produce, Central Dining Services has made an effort to add healthier dining options for students.

At the C-Store, students have the option of buying “grab and go” snack packs, apple slices, pre-made salads and veggie trays.

Central Dining Kitchen Manager Jim Matheny said that the amount of fresh produce at the C-Store has actually increased since last spring.

“Our supply is meeting the demand,” Matheny said. “We doubled the amount of grab and goes last spring.”

Dining Services has also added more healthy substitutes in the Central Market Place.

“We have phased out hot dogs and added baked potatoes, which has been a hit,” Matheny said.

Matheny encourages students to give Dining their input because they want to meet the students’ needs.

“Comment cards are great and if there are specific dietary needs, they should directly contact me,” Matheny said.

The C-Store also provides a gluten-free section for students.