By Yulissa Barrios, Contributing Writer
Eating well-balanced can be very difficult, but it can assist us greatly with overall well-being and longevity.
World Health Day is celebrated on April 7. It draws attention to a specific health topic, educating people all over the world.
The theme for World Health Day 2024 is “My health, my right.” This theme was chosen to prioritize the right of everyone to have access to quality health information, services, proper nutrition, and many more.
Being a college student, it can be hard to eat healthy because of the temptation of eating comforting, tasty foods like french fries, burgers, and ice-cream.
It is particularly important for students to maintain well-balanced meals, as it is greatly beneficial to their overall physical and mental health.
“Your body is like a machine, whatever you put in, you get out of it. So, it is important to offer a well-balanced to students,” said Justin Bush, director of dining services.
Saint Leo University’s dining services are working on offering a more variety of diverse options for students to choose from.
“We are trying to incorporate more plant-based dishes including vegan chicken, vegan beef tacos, and vegan Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches,” said Bush.
In addition to adding more variety into the dining hall, dining services are trying to interact more with the students so that they can increase communication and feedback from the students.
“I want to get the communication out there by going to the town hall meetings, reaching out to Saint Leo University student government, and talking to the athletes about what they need most,” said Bush.
In those meetings, Bush talked a lot about promoting self-advocacy in all young adults in being self-aware of what their bodies need.
Dining services want to listen to students, but they don’t have enough specific feedback.
“Students should be more specific, so there can be positive changes made to the food,” said Bush.
After realizing their voice is needed and important for change, students started to speak up about changes that wanted to meet their health goals.
“When it comes to drinks, there only seems to be soda, sugary drinks, and water. Having fresh juice and more healthy drink options will increase the satisfaction of students,” said Malina Shrestha, a freshman majoring in social work.
Although the cafeteria is trying to implement more nutritional options, there is a negative connotation when it comes to the nutritional food by the cafeteria.
“When it comes to Fridays during Lent, I feel there is a lack of seafood options. All I see is carb- heavy options and when trying the vegetarian options, it seemed to taste plastic and frozen,” said Brennan Roohan, a sophomore majoring in marketing.
With the negative attention coming from the students about the dining options on campus, Bush ensures that he has the student’s best interests at heart.
Bush spoke with student athletes about what exactly the dining services can improve to assist them. The student athletes explained how having busy schedules can make it hard to implement a more nutritious diet.
Although there are still improvements to be made to the food options on campus, dining services are continuously reaching out to students so they can be able to reach their needs of a healthier lifestyle.
Maintaining a well-balanced diet can be difficult for students, but it provides students with the opportunity to perform their best both in and out of the classroom.
