The transition from a home-cooked meal to cafeteria food can be worrisome to students trying to stay healthy, but ASU now has new dining options available.
The University has new food offerings on three of its campuses this fall to help students eat healthier.
Karen Moses, director of Wellness and Health Promotion at ASU, said she has noticed that many students are afraid their weight will be affected by the transition from home to college.
“The freshmen 15 is a myth,” Moses said. “Some students gain, some students lose. If a student does gain, it’s usually around five pounds.”
Students hoping to eat well this semester won’t have to look far.
Downtown
Devil’s Greens, a fruit and vegetable produce market, is set to open on the Downtown campus inside the Taylor Place residence hall.
“Devil’s Greens will feature a salad bar with a choice of greens, proteins, vegetables and assorted toppings,” said Krystal Nelson, marketing manager for ARAMARK Higher Education, which runs food services on campus.
She said there is also a rotating menu that includes hot foods, like rotisserie chicken and lasagna.
“Devil’s Greens will feature local and sustainable offerings when items are in season from local farms,” Nelson said in an e-mail.
While there is a local farmers market and grocery store nearby, the Devil’s Greens will serve as another stop for picking up fresh groceries.
The extra produce available will help students create their own nutritional meals within the Taylor Place kitchen that opened earlier this year.
The kitchen includes a stove, microwave, sink, oven and utensils. Now, all the components for students to re-create a home cooked meal are in place.
The dining shop will be one of several additions to the Downtown campus since it was built four years ago. The Hsin Café, for example, opened at the end of the spring 2010 semester and now provides students with more ethnic food options.
West
The West campus is kicking off the year with “Start Cookin,” an event scheduled for Aug. 26 in the Kiva lecture hall.
“Start Cookin” will cover sustainable and organic foods, said Cheryl Kaufman, food service director for ASU West.
Engrained, a sustainable foods dining restaurant in the Tempe Memorial Union, will have its chef, Jerome Fresinier, provide nutritional recipes at the event. The recipes are designed so West campus students can create them in their dorm rooms.
“We’re working toward an educational process,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman is also teaching three cooking classes in the Las Casas dorms at ASU West that are designed to help students prepare fresh, healthy food options.
Improvements to West’s New Café range from turkey burgers to black bean burgers, with vegetarian options in between. Its focus is on providing grilled options over fried.
“Start Cookin” is really focused on “introducing the discussion regarding moderation, to where you can still eat the foods you like, but recognizing that maybe french fries every single day isn’t the way to go,” Kaufman said.
The Sand Trap Convenience Store on the West campus is also adding adequate produce that will assist students with more recipes to whip up.
Salsa, for example, is a nutritional recipe available for students to make from the line of organic foods.
Tempe
Freshëns, a frozen yogurt and smoothie shop, is set to open on the Tempe campus.
The yogurt stand located in the Memorial Union uses healthy ingredients to make its products, according to the website.
The Polytechnic campus has no new dining shops scheduled to open.
Reach the reporter at jgetting@asu.edu
