Students looking for food festivals, new coffee shops or clever ways to make dinner in a dorm room microwave can find it all on ASU's newest food publication.
Spoon University is an up-and-coming student publication that provides access to food hacks and lifestyle tips for college students who are always on the lookout for a fast, cheap meal. This semester will be its first on the ASU campus.
“You wouldn’t think it’s that big of a deal, but if you’re living in the dorms, suddenly you have to find a way to cook in a microwave, so we just want to be the resource where people can go with questions," said Nicole Dusanek, a junior journalism student who is one of four ASU Spoon University founders.
After being contacted by Spoon University headquarters, Dusanek decided to form a Spoon University chapter at ASU, promoting not only healthy eating, but intelligent eating.
Dusanek said that a college campus is a whole new food culture because students finally start doing things for themselves.
“We’re cooking our own dinners, trying to find places around campus to eat and a lot of it is a learning curve," Dusanek said.
Before becoming a registered student organization, Dusanek and her team had to get support from the community proving that their chapter of Spoon University would be a success.
“We needed to get 300 signatures on our petition to show that there was a student interest on campus for Spoon University, and then it was the recruitment of people who have a passion for what we we're doing,” Dusanek said.
Prior to joining the organization, Dusanek was unaware that she had already been exposed to Spoon University’s content through her social media feeds.
“When I went back onto Facebook, I saw a bunch of videos from Spoon University, they look like Tasty videos, and I realized I’ve seen this before and just didn’t know what I was looking at,” she said. “They also take over the Snapchat for Food Network every Saturday.”
She said she wants the publication to become a force on campus and build a community where people can all come together over food.
“You don’t have to be a writer or photographer, but just clicking the stories and making Spoon University at ASU your resource for food on campus is being involved," Dusanek said.
Sienna Villa, a sophomore broadcast journalist, works as the marketing director. She said after the organization receives their funding, they plan on hosting big events to get the word out to students.
“We’re going to have events downtown and on Tempe, so we want to hire DJs, bands and have food from different restaurants that we network with there,” Villa said.
Villa said what sets Spoon University apart from other publications is the uniqueness and relevance of their stories.
“We incorporate what a college student would want to read, so there’s stuff about drinking games, going to Taco Bell at 2 a.m. — stuff that students will be drawn towards,” Villa said.
Brooke Owen, a sophomore majoring in neurobiology, physiology and behavior, is the editorial director for Spoon at ASU. She found out about the job from Dusanek, who is her sorority sister.
Owen said that while they cover a wide range of topics, her favorite food hacks are the ones that deal with ramen.
“I really like ramen because it’s trendy, delicious, and cheap," Owen said.
Sarah Martinelli, the faculty adviser for the organization, said being a part of Spoon University benefits the staff in more ways than one.
“For me it’s about the nutrition," Martinelli said. "I want to get that message out in a way that college students want to digest it, but I’m also a strong believer in college being a place to develop leadership skills, and on the board here, they’re learning that."
Martinelli teaches nutrition in the classroom and said Spoon University is a good way to educate students about the food around them.
“They’re going to be able to broaden their horizons in what’s available to them," Martinelli said. "But I’m hoping, of course, to speckle that with nutrition."
Editor's Note: One of the Spoon University founders, Nicole Dusanek, is a State Press reporter.
Correction: Due to an editing error, Nicole Dusanek's name was misspelled. The article has been updated to reflect the changes.
Reach the reporter at kasando1@asu.edu or follow @karismasandoval onTwitter.
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