University of Mississippi Dining Services

                                   By Ben Von Drehle and Jackson Boyd

Food is a necessity. It is important for everyone to receive the proper nutrients in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Mississippi has been considered one of the most obese states in the country for multiple years. Along with this, 2011 has seen more cases of illness caused by contaminated foods such as, food poisoning and the E-Coli virus. Is enough being done to provide safe and healthy foods to students at the University of Mississippi?

College students are known to put on weight during these unhealthy years of their lives by resorting to cheap fast food and binge drinking. This kind of lifestyle is not sustainable to staying fit and healthy. At the University of Mississippi there are two main food services that students ultimately depend on for their food needs. These two dining services are the Johnson Commons and the Student Union.

            The Student Union is comprised of many different food options, such as Subway, Chik-fil-a, Zoca, Bleeker Street, as well as many others. The Johnson Commons is more of a buffet style system that provides a salad bar, pizza buffet, desserts, grilled foods, etc.

The Student Union at The University of Mississippi

            Students who take advantage of these two food services pay a large amount of money at the beginning of each year so that they can eat whenever and wherever they want to, expecting to be served non contaminated foods.

            With this large amount of money comes the expectation that students will eat well. Students expect to eat well, and eat a lot. This means that food is not to be served after the expiration date, preserved properly, and all inspection grades comply with the state’s health department regulations.

Students seem to constantly choose the Student Union over the Johnson Commons because complaints of food poisoning. Alex Sands, a freshmen who dines on campus regularly, said,

“I choose to avoid the JC, I don’t always know if the food being served is fresh or if it has been sitting out for multiple hours.”

            When asked about inspections, food grades, and the re-using of food, Marketing Programs Manager, Joshua Halliday said,

“The J.C. is inspected on a regular basis in compliance with health department regulations as are all Ole Miss Dining locations.”

Students at Chick-Fil-A in the Union

On the topic of the current grade received by the J.C. in its most recent Health Department Inspection, Halliday said, “We have received an A for our current health department score and are in compliance with all health department regulations.”

When touching on the subject of re-using food, Halliday stated, “We make every effort to minimize waste in our operations by keeping accurate production and consumption records. In fact, we have very little waste in our campus locations. Our chefs have been trained on different techniques to monitor and reduce food waste.” The Student Union has taken multiple steps in making their facility better. The Subway on the top floor of the Union has been a huge hit with students. It is always fresh and it stays open late, providing a healthy alternative for students to eat a good meal if they get hungry at a late hour.

            Food quality and nutrition in the life of a growing early adult is vital. People can gain severe eating habits in the time that they are in college, which can ultimately haunt them for the rest of their lives.

            Upon our investigation, it was a vital point to get the opinions of those who work in the J.C. and the Student Union just to see what they might think about the food that is being served in their perspective places of work. Should more money and attention be put on the quality of food that is being served? What can we as an institution do to ensure that students will not get sick if they were to eat what is offered here at the University of Mississippi?

            When asked how important nutrition awareness for students at Ole Miss, Halliday said, “Ole Miss dining continues to strive to provide more nutritional information and healthier dining options. We have introduced nutritional identifiers in Johnson Commons highlighting nutritional information as well as launched other nutritional communication tools. We have also introduced ‘Toss it Up’ in the Union based on student feedback for a salad bar option.”

There will always be complaints when it comes to how good or bad the food services are on campus, it is easiest to take a poll. Asking a handful of students what they think of the dining services here on campus is the most beneficial way of finding out the general consensus.

            Ten students were asked their opinions on what they thought of the food provided by the University of Mississippi Dining services. They were also asked which place on campus they preferred to eat at, the J.C., or the Student Union. Surprisingly, more preferred the Johnson Commons then was originally expected. The final tally came out to be 6 students that enjoyed the Student Union, while 4 students preferred the Johnson Commons.

            Adam Liberto, a junior and Criminal Justice major at Ole Miss said that he always chooses the Student Union over the J.C. mainly because of the quality of food and the cleanliness of the Union.

            Liberto said, “The surroundings of the Union are more inviting in so many more ways than that of the J.C. The selection may not be ‘buffet style’ like the J.C. but the selections like Chik-fil-a and Subway always sounds better to me.”

            Another comment that stood out was from recent graduate Harrison Hunt.

Hunt, who was at one time a victim of food poisoning from the J.C. insisted that after his first month of school he refused to set foot in the Johnson Commons due to the way he felt after he ate their food. He said, “The selection does not seem fresh and the crowd that usually gathers there is relatively uninviting.”

Those who were in favor of the J.C. include sophomore Journalism major Meghan Pettigrew.

Pettigrew said, “I like the variety of food offered in the J.C. They offer a huge salad bar, which is something that is very appealing to my friends and me. It is never too crowded and I never really have to wait in any lines, which is something that is also very appealing to me.”

All these critiques and opinions that were heard allowed for a general overview of what students really think about what they are paying so much for, in terms of food.

Though there are all these varying opinions about the food on campus, that is not stopping the University of Mississippi Dining Services from trying to improve their product on a daily basis, as well as the way they go about serving that product.

It was pivotal to make a visit to the University of Mississippi Student Health Center to get the reaction of those who experience first hand sickness of all types, including those that have to do with the intake of contaminated foods.

When Director of University Health Services and Nurse Practitioner Barbara Collier was asked about the frequency that she and those she works with deal with food related illnesses, she said, “We see a lot of food related illnesses all year long, however it can not be determined where the students got the illness.”

According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, We have seen more cases of food illness in Lafayette County for 2011 than recent past. In fact, 2011 has seen a total of 129 cases, not including the months of November or December. This is the highest number of reported cases since 2003.

            The University of Mississippi Dining Services have the tough task of feeding students and faculty alike, as well as going about each step the right way. Knowing what to eat and how it can benefit you is a knowledge that the Dining Service is striving to make known to those who consume their product.

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                                                         Side Bar Story

Mississippi has always been able to pride itself on being one of the fattest states in the country. For the past six years, Mississippi has ranked first in obesity rates and shows little intention to improving this statistic.

            Fried or Grilled? For people in Mississippi this should not even be a question. Obesity ratings have gradually increased everywhere across the country, but the south can claim nine out of the top ten fattest states.

           Obesity can lead to diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers and is a top concern for health officials in the state of Mississippi. According to the Mississippi State department of health, the leading cause for obesity is unhealthy dietary behaviors and physical inactivity.

According to npr.org, roughly 1 n 3 adult Americans are obese now. In Mississippi, 44 percent of kids are either overweight or obese. And 7 of 10 adults in the state are either overweight or obese.

           In this NPR article, Mississippi resident Sandra Shelson was interviewed about this problem that has literally consumed the state of Mississippi.

           Sheldon, in the article said, “For the sixth year in a row we remain the most obese state in the most obese country in the world, I guess making Mississippi the most obese place in the world.”

           This disease of obesity leads to other long-term issues that can eventually be life threatening. The most common diseases that stem from obesity are diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Representative for Mississippi, Steve Holland (D) who once weighed 359 pounds chimed in on the situation by saying, “We have a culture of easy living, good eating with fatback and lard and things like that. We like to sit on our porch, and we like adult beverages, we like our fellowship and that kind of thing, and when you put all that together over generations, you’ve got a bad health problem.”

           The issue of obesity has been brought to the forefront and is something that is a major issue in this state.  It is something that makes this state look glutinous and a state without self-control.