All of my classes are on the south side of campus and it limits my easy-access food options in the areas surrounding the Student Life Centre (SLC). It’s hard to navigate from SLC to anywhere else making the search for food especially difficult with all the construction and the closure of Brubakers.
This closure also limits your food choices while visiting or studying in SLC and creates lengthy wait times and frustration for those who only wanted coffee.
The food choices weren’t great even with the options of pasta, pita, pizza, smoothie, sub, or teriyaki. I swear, when I go to Booster Juice, I order the same smoothie, but it has a different taste and consistency every time. If you’ve ever ordered pasta you’ll know it’s overpriced, oily, and never worth the money. I can’t be too harsh when I know they’re serving thousands of people a day.
However, I’ve visited other campuses, I’ve seen the food that’s offered and I think it’s ridiculous how poorly we compare. At the University of Guelph, they have farm to table programs that support local farmers, while also providing students with fresh ingredients and healthy meals. Guelph is less than an hour drive from here, we share library resources with them, but we cannot adopt their food values.
Guelph even offers food from 7a.m. till midnight, seven days a week. While Waterloo has one sit-down restaurant on campus, Bombshelter Pub, Guelph has several and they’re not bars. There’s a reason Guelph is rated number one in food services.
In comparison to other universities set up the same way, with all of campus being one designated area, unlike institutions in downtown Toronto or Wilfrid Laurier, Waterloo is lacking in the range and quality of restaurants. University of Ottawa offers a wide range of food choices including coffee shops, food trucks, and sit-down restaurants.
Waterloo needs to step up its food game. I think we need to see more healthy food options and offer more variety. It would be nice to see UW support more local food and practise sustainability. Places like Funcken Café in St. Jerome’s are great but, there’s not enough of them and they don’t have a huge variety of food available.
Alexandra Hanrath
3B English Literature
