With the rise of the local food movement and authors like Michael Pollan becoming household names, many students are more conscious of their food choices. While some student shoppers gravitate toward the “Grown in the Midwest” produce signs at Whole Foods and cut down on their meat intake, not all have such control over what they’re eating for dinner. Despite the often-limited options (“turkey-less turkey,” anyone?), vegan and vegetarian students living on campus and in the Greek houses are making the best of it.
And for the large part, the Greek system is keeping up as more and more students go veggie. Benjamin Singer, a Communication senior, says Alpha Epsilon Pi has been very supportive of his choice to eat vegan. Even before Singer joined the fraternity his freshman year, he says the house made an effort to accommodate his diet. “They would order something for me that was vegan. That meant a lot to me,” Singer says of the fraternity’s Sunday night dinners during the recruitment period. Singer, who’s living in the house again this year, says the fact that his frat keeps Kosher helps.
The vegetarian life on sorority row seems pretty easy, too. Hallie Fishman, a Weinberg senior, praises TriDelta’s vegetarian-friendly food. “We have a really nice salad bar, so that’s always an option,” she says. Fishman, who is also the president of TriDelta, says its chef often makes sure there’s a vegetarian dinner option if the entrée has meat. A vegetarian since age eight, Fishman says keeping her habits has actually been tougher since moving off campus. “It’s just more difficult to find time to make vegetarian food, so I’m often just eating frozen, pre-made food.”
When eating outside of the house, Singer says NU still has some work to do to best cater to vegans and vegetarians, especially in the dorm dining halls. “Kids need to ask more questions in the dining halls,” Singer says. “You see the labels and they just say fat, carbohydrates, sodium… but you need more complete information.” Singer remembers surveying vegetarian options in the dining halls that weren’t necessarily vegetarian. “You’d see couscous that was marked with a vegetarian sticker, but it was cooked in chicken broth,” he says. He suggests University Dining Services better train its staff to answer questions about ingredients and vegetarian options.
Rachel Barach, a Communication junior and vegan, has similar opinions of her freshman dining hall experience. “There’s still a lot that’s cryptic in terms of nutritional information.” Barach, who has worked as an alternative foods chef at a sleep-away camp, is also an active member of Kappa Delta. She is currently serving as the treasurer and brings her vegan background to the executive board’s issues and policies.
The Greek system aside, Northwestern Dining Services is making efforts to be more sustainable and vegetarian-friendly. “For lunch and dinner, there’s always a vegan and vegetarian entrée,” says Tamika Harris, a manager at 1835 Hinman’s dining hall, highlighting dishes like vegan meatloaf, falafel and eggplant parmesan. Harris has noticed a rise in vegan and vegetarian students in her years working at NU.
In 2007, Northwestern was chosen as peta2’s Most Vegetarian Friendly College, an award about which Singer is skeptic. Despite his perceived shortcomings of nuCuisine, Singer is content living in Alpha Epsilon Pi and doesn’t see his vegan diet as an obstacle to enjoying the bounties of “The Dining Capital of the North Shore.”
“You can go out to just about any restaurant here, except for ESPN Zone, and find something there that works,” Singer says.
