RPS gives students opportunity to 'Eat Wright'

Walk into Wright Place Food Court any afternoon, and it will be packed with students trying to grab a bite to eat before rushing off to their next class. Choices like burgers and fries are staples, but many students are also making salads to go or picking up a piece of fruit.\nFlyers and banners hanging outside the cafeteria promoting the Residential Programs and Services' "Eat Wright" campaign attempt to educate students about eating healthy on campus, said Director of Dining Services Sandra Fowler.\n"You can eat healthy on our campus quite easily if you know what to look for and where," she said.\nColor-coded pamphlets with examples of a well-balanced meal and the revised food pyramid are also available to students at Wright.\nIn addition to expanding the Eat Wright campaign across campus, Fowler said the Willkie Quad C-Store has an expanded organic food line with packaged "veggie" chips, trail mix, cereals and other snack foods. Fowler said if the organic foods are popular among students in Willkie, then RPS plans to expand the choices across campus.\nAt the Read Center dining room, Fowler said RPS is attempting to "create more interest in traditional dining," which includes featuring a different theme each month. This month there is an expanded breakfast menu through lunch and dinner hours, in addition to the regular menu. Future plans include an Italian theme, similar to the popular "Pastabilities" tour that travels to each dining hall, and a Mexican dish theme.\n"We are just trying to bring more to the menu," said Associate Director of Dining Services Diana Dominguez.\nJunior and Willkie resident Emma Vaughn said special menu nights, like the Pastabilities tour, usually draw a large crowd.\nCurrently Read is the only dining hall with these new themes, but Fowler said there are plans to expand this to other dining halls if there is an interest.\nVaughn, who is a vegetarian, said the dining halls attempt to "accommodate a good variety of food (and) a variety of vegetarian and health foods."\nFowler said RPS is always testing trends and promoting new choices.\n"We provide services to basically the same group of students throughout the year," Fowler said. "We don't want them to get completely bored."\nA combination of RPS staff, including Fowler, Dominguez, executive chef Ancil Drake and registered dietitian Heidi Boruff, write the menus, but there is also student input. Every other Friday, seven students from the dorms meet with administrators to discuss the menu and offer suggestions.\nFowler said many decisions are made based on the students' feedback.\n"Other (Big Ten) schools are surprised that we listen to the students so much," Dominguez said.\nOverall, Fowler and Dominguez agree that there seems to be an increase in more health-conscious students.\n"Eating right is a matter of choice," Fowler said.