Community Post: Life As A Vegetarian In College

Nine years ago I made the decision that I wasn’t going to eat meat anymore. Though I didn’t know the nitty-gritty details about how meat makes it’s way to your plate (we won’t get into that), meat just wasn’t appealing to me anymore.

However, this is not a story about my decision, nor is it a lecture about meat eaters at all; It’s about other vegetarians out there who struggle to find suitable meals in college.

When people think of vegetarians, they usually think that salad will do the trick. False.
How many salads can someone eat in a day?

With the lack of food options, it is really easy to turn to carbs (or maybe it’s just me and my lack of will). Pasta, pizza and bread rolls are a party in your mouth, but eventually lead to actual rolls on your body.

Once in a while there will be some tofu, but it’s the school’s way of saying “we’re not sure if this is edible but it says vegetarian so we will hope for the best.” In most cases, it’s (probably) not edible. Tofu doesn’t have much taste to begin with, but I don’t want a block of slime, thanks.

One of the biggest problems is the fact that most foods are cooked on the same grills. There are hamburgers and veggie burgers? Awesome! Oh, they are grilling them on the same surface and using the same spatula. Never mind.

I don’t know how other vegetarians feel about this issue, but I personally hesitate and decide to go with something else like carbs for example (but not always).

Sure, there are always off-campus options, but that also means spending (the little) money that you have. Since you’re going to be at school for the next few years, it would be nice to have more options.

Would it be too much to ask for a Trader Joe’s section in a cafeteria?