The students have spoken, and the cooks are responding.
"Westlawn Dining Hall has really stepped up its game when it comes to meatless options."
— Amelia Turnbull
Over the past school year, Corson said he has received feedback from a handful of students and faculty concerning the lack of options for people who are vegan or have other dietary restrictions.
The culinary team has been working to ensure everyone has an option at Westlawn and the Leaf Raker.
Corson posted in the campus communicator that he is open to suggestions and any feedback from the students and faculty about the food served at Goshen College.
“We often do surveys, but those can get a little lengthy,” he said. “I wanted to try a different approach.”
Corson has already gotten feedback from a student who requested an alternative flavoring to one of the dishes they enjoyed, expressing the desire for more savory dishes than sweet. He said that it was helpful to understand better what the students enjoy eating.
The culinary team is finding that when given the option, many students like the vegan dishes.
“When we put out good alternatives to meat, [the amount of students who eat that food] grows because if it tastes good, the carnivores go for it,” Corson said.
He has also noticed that many people love foods with spice.
“If we make it as hot as we can, it’s gone,” said Corson.
Sophomore Amelia Turnbull, a vegetarian, said, “The Westlawn Dining hall has really stepped up its game when it comes to meatless options.”
“Having a nutritious diet as a vegetarian is very important to me,” she continued. “It’s great to see that the dining hall on campus is allowing me to fill my diet with non-meat protein. Not to mention the Leaf Raker, my go-to first meal of the day.”
Along with creating a vegan menu, Corson is also working on expanding the online platform.
“We are going to create a menu that matches better to what we serve, including dietary restrictions, gluten, vegetarian and vegan options,” he said. “It is not up to date right now and we are finding that vegans and vegetarians are driving some of the menu.”
Corson noted that with the pandemic and supply and demand issues, some ingredients are not available and they have to make their menu and dishes based on what they are given or can find.
He has been able to go to Maple City Market and the Carsarina, local businesses that can provide more options to students on campus. Please email comments and suggestions to jcorson@avifoodsystems.com. The culinary team (Chef Dan, Chef Denise, and Jeremey) expressed that they are always ready to listen and assist students’ needs!
