Change Smith College Dining for the Better

I want African dishes introduced to at least two dining halls

It is disheartening to see your child's health deteriorate because of poor nutrition. It is outrageous that we have to pay so much money to a prestigious institution whose administrators are incapable of making a connection between healthy nutrition and good academic performance. Please allow students to chose their meal options. Be innovative. The school could set up green houses and allow all students to grow their organic vegetables. Set up fully equipped kitchens in each house. Buy locally. And, please don't try to profit at the expense of our children's health.

It is not possible to change the text right now; however, this comment is very valid. I've been hearing that Dining Services and Student Life Committee had been having meetings in order to improve quality of food at Smith. I will be attending one of those meetings, where I will do my best to represent as many voice and opinions as possible. Thank you for your comment!

YES!

As a Smith senior, this petition definitely seems necessary. I just want to make a little suggestion about the tone, though. Our dinning staff works everyday to make our lives a little easier, we are lucky to have making talented chefs, but their talents are being underutilized. I want to make sure we are not misdirecting our (completely fair) frustrations at the people who make our lives easier without any thanks. For example, the piece about the inaccurate online menus almost made me not sign this because it felt too demanding of the staff to me. Thank you to all who put together this petition, but please consider my reading of it.

healthy food is imperative to brain development and health. Smith students, and all students, deserve healthy meals

As a student at Smith (spending my year abroad) I fully understand the issues regarding the food options at Smith. However, to whoever wrote this petition: I encourage you to speak with members of the Student Senate at Smith. You can find their information at http://www.smith.edu/sga/, and I recommend contacting the SGA Vice President, as I personally know that she has a lot of experience working with the dining staff to improve conditions. Certainly, there are problems at Smith, but knowing where to direct your concerns will help them go much farther. Best of luck.

Alumna.

It's college. I am not expecting the food to be gourmet, but at least let the quality be edible. If smith provided dining services with food to make decent food, I am sure the food services staff would have no problem preparing healthier options. We should be getting what we are paying for.

At first I didn't want to comment as everything is quite clear for students on campus. However, I see that some alumnae are paying their attention to this issue, so it might be worth it to share what I have experienced. IT IS NOT OK that I have to go to bed hungry!!! Why? Because last meal is served before 7pm. Everyone on campus knows that Smith takes every single atom of our energy if we want to be successful students. I personally have to stay up very late to finish in order to stay on top of everything. It is 1am right now as I am writing this. They would say "you can put food in Tupperware". Well, not in this school trust me. Why? Because once that food gets into Tupperware it is not eatable anymore (especially pasta that gets rock solid). And yes, Smith loves to stuff us with carbs! I am on financial aid and it is not possibility to get funds for food separately and not be on meal plan. Result of this is that I have to spend 1/2 to 2/3 of my student earnings buying additional food (and I noticed that someone mentioned this as well), just because hours of operation don't work for me. Please share your stories and sign the petition.

Better salad dressings and less carbs! I want more healthy options please!

For 15k a year, I want healthy options that aren't just a salad bar. Extended hours (or a change in hours) to meet student schedules is also incredibly important.

The dearest wish of my heart: more vegetables that aren't lettuce

Class of 83 and parent of a first year who grew up hearing about the amazing food at Smith. Also understand economics but it seems like we can do better

I’ve been too silent for too long. As some of you may know, I have many, MANY food allergies. They came on quite suddenly while in college and because of Smith’s administration, living at Smith is one of the worst experiences of my life. To say the options for dining at Smith are limited is just barely scratching the surface to the countless issues that Smith Dining has. Besides the issues discussed in the description of this petition, including the meal options leading to an overall lack of nutrition on campus, right now the biggest issue I face is downright CLASSICISM from the Smith College administration. Why? You might ask. I will tell you. For sake of clarity I’ve condensed the story, but here it is. After finding out I was allergic to dairy and soy, I no longer could eat a full meal at Smith. Therefore, I set up a meeting with the Director of Dining Services, and she offered me soy-free tuna, a bag of nuts here or there, and permission to eat at the Gluten-Free line (it was then a sectioned off portion of one of the dining halls where meals might be more allergen friendly). These were the “solutions” so that I could get enough protein since most sources of protein served at Smith are served with dairy, or come pre-packaged and therefore contain soy. (Soy is in literally everything that comes in a box, and Smith likes buying food in boxes.) Still getting sick and without ever getting any tuna, nuts or official access to the GF line, I decided to take matters into my own hands and began eating off campus. By luck and the love of my boyfriend, who lives nearby, I now had access to a car to buy groceries, and to a full kitchen to cook my food. He even helped me by cooking when I was too busy with final projects and exams. I also thankfully had understanding and helpful professors who gave me several extensions just so I could get my work done. After I got home for the winter and throughout my spring semester abroad, I still suffered from chronic symptoms tha

Better healthier food with more options gives us more energy!

Agreed. For the amount of money Smithies are investing in room and board, they should be given a wider variety of nourishing foods and not loaded with carbohydrates. A more balanced diet will also help somewhat in maintaining students' psyches. Increased dining hours will also be beneficial in terms of planning, because Smithies tend to be very busy, and it's not healthy to always substitute dinner with grab-and-go lunches for those who can't make the dinner hours due to other obligations.

I am a Smith alum. I worked two jobs and went to school full time. I found the dining impossible then, too. The hours for dining were far too short and the food was mostly picked over by the end of the evening. I often had to buy my own groceries if I wanted to have regular meals and I was still paying for room and board. I didn't have a choice. Please make dining more accessible for all students, particularly those who have to work to stay in school.

Less fried food please!

As a student athlete, this is something I feel very strongly about! We often times come from practice and have food being put away when we get there or are not given any nutritious food before practices/games.