Divya Ramesh | Waffles for dinner

As a vegetarian on the meal plan, I struggle to maintain a balanced diet. As a vegetarian on the meal plan, I struggle to maintain a balanced diet. I usually rely on Hill dining hall’s hot entree vegan bar for a decent meal. But when Hill is closed, my meal-swipe options are limited.

Late Sunday night, I had half a waffle, four varieties of hummus and green beans for dinner. I found nothing else to eat at 1920 Commons. Someone walking by glanced at my plate and described it as “Charlie Brown’s cafeteria food glop.”

I sat down, stomached the green beans only to satisfy veggie requirements, and nearly gagged.

Penn needs to do more to improve its vegetarian options.

College sophomore Shawn Kelley, dining liaison for the Penn Vegan Society, agrees.

A cursory glance at a dining hall menu might suggest vegetarians are spoiled for choice. The typical dining hall is stocked with at least four varieties of pizza, six types of hummus, four kinds of cereals and an extensive salad bar.

While college students love pizza, they are an unhealthy staple. Hummus is wholesome, but six varieties are a little excessive.

We don’t need more versions of the same dish but a diversity of dishes.

Kelley, who has worked as a chef, understands the stresses of a production kitchen and why chefs hesitate to veer from what works. To encourage gradual change, Kelley and the Penn Vegan Society hope to invite vegan chefs to campus to educate Penn’s culinary staff.

During my quest for a decent meal, I learned of the famous Chef Lydia Kumpa: the genius who introduced vegan cheese pizzas and tempeh (a soy substitute) to Kings Court. These items have since become a hit.

Although Chef Lydia has reached some level of fame, she’s constantly striving to improve. On weekends, when Kings Court dining hall is closed, she experiments with different dishes at home.

In the spirit of improvement, perhaps we should strive to create a dining hall for students with dietary restrictions. Kelley, who supports this idea, thinks a vegan dining hall would work best since it would cater to vegetarians as well as those who keep kosher or eat halal food.

While this dining hall is an admirable end goal, there is a more immediate solution. Penn should seriously consider replicating Hill’s vegan hot entree bar at all of its dining halls.

Currently, “every dining hall is required to have vegetarian options, and the vegan options are mixed in with the meat options to encourage everyone to eat a more plant-based diet,” explained Barbara Lea-Kruger, a spokesperson at Business Services.

Vegetarians used to come second in the minds of chefs. Dining halls — stocked with meaty stews and burgers — primarily catered to omnivores, leaving herbivores to fend for themselves in the salad bar.

But the divides that used to force the “steak man” to avoid tofu burgers no longer exist. The vegan tacos at Hill are equally popular among vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Kelley knows this too. “People judge by appearance. If [the food] looks good and tastes good, then it doesn’t matter if it’s vegan or not — people will still eat it,” he said.

So what’s stopping us from separating vegan food from the rest? Unlike mixed bars, vegan bars avoid accidental cross-contamination when tired servers use the wrong ladle.

Change doesn’t come easily in the culinary world, but at least Penn Dining claims that it’s open to suggestions. In addition to comment boards for students to share ideas, Penn Dining has a Facebook page and a “just ask” policy that encourages students to approach chefs with their concerns.

But this system is flawed and doesn’t ensure that Penn Dining receives genuine feedback. Busy Penn students — barring a deathly allergy — would rather go elsewhere than hassle chefs.

Penn’s dining halls and meal plans aim to foster a sense of community. And indeed, I made a new friend during NSO because of the dining halls here. But the lack of vegetarian options has compromised this community.

According to Kelley, most vegan or vegetarian students leave the meal plan after freshman year since it’s incapable of meeting their needs.

By catering more specifically to vegetarians and vegans on campus, Penn may encourage more people to stay with the meal plan and forge stronger links within the community.

Divya Ramesh is a College freshman from Princeton Junction, N.J. Her email address is divyaramesh20@gmail.com. “Through My Eyes” appears every other Wednesday. Follow her @DivyaRamesh11

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