Houston Market introduced a wider selection of healthy beverage options to its meal exchange program last fall.
The initiative — which brought options such as orange juice, apple juice, and boxed milk to Houston — was spearheaded by College sophomore and Undergraduate Assembly member Tanisha Agrawal. Other Penn dining locations, including Hill House and 1920 Commons, have implemented similar health-conscious efforts.
Houston, like McClelland Café and Gourmet Grocer, offers an exchange system where students with a Penn Dining Plan can use a meal swipe for a designated meal that includes a drink.
Agrawal told The Daily Pennsylvanian she noticed the only drink options provided at meal exchange locations were water and soda. According to her, water was “available in every building” at no additional cost and soda is “just objectively unhealthy.”
“This frustration was always in the back of my mind,” Agrawal — a former DP staffer — said. “I would just waste my drink part of the [meal] swipe.”
Agrawal — who worked closely with College junior and UA director of dining, housing, and transit Aidan DaSilva — began by surveying students to gauge interest in potential beverage options.
According to Agrawal, Penn Dining began with a two-week pilot program of the new beverage options, which she described as a “massive success.”
“We can’t seem to, no matter how much we order, keep the milk or keep the juices on the shelf,” Penn Bon Appétit Director of Retail Daniel Wideman told the DP. “We increase in cases by the week, so that’s a show and tell that it’s going well.”
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Engineering first-year Fahsai Pibulsonggram praised the increased variety of beverages in Houston and discussed how the option for a higher-protein drink complemented her active lifestyle.
“If I’m just buying a salad, I can take milk with it, and that makes it a better meal,” Pibulsonggram said.
Steven Green — who serves as director of operations for Bon Appétit — said that the University’s efforts to introduce healthier, non-carbonated beverages are not exclusive to meal exchange vendors.
Green added that Hill House and Commons both now offer freshly brewed tea as a sugar-free option.
“We’re always looking at the full program and how to improve based on the feedback we receive,” Green said.
Bon Appétit wellness manager and registered dietitian Sarah Goff discussed the importance of incorporating different cuisines at Penn Dining and being mindful of student feedback to implement change “in a way that’s meaningful for our student population.”
According to Goff, input from students and campus groups — such as the Hindu and Jain Association — led to the addition of a vegan dining station at Commons.
DaSilva reflected on the Houston project and his experience advocating for students, claiming that Penn business services “do care about student opinions.”
“While they do need some reminding from the Undergraduate Assembly and other groups, I think they are moving in a positive direction towards healthiness, like we’ve seen recently in Commons,” DaSilva said.
Agrawal is continuing her work with the UA and Penn Dining to introduce more beverage options that reflect the needs of the student body, including protein shakes and coffee.
“It’s very cool and very satisfying to see that there's actually some change you can make as a student,” she said.
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Staff reporter Danna Cai covers climate and sustainability and can be reached at cai@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies biology. Follow her on X @dannaacai.
