Food, Glorious Food!

When I first arrived at Albright college I was told to, “beware of the food, there’s laxatives in it.” As a freshman this comment both frightened and intrigued me. So when the opportunity came for me to dig a bit deeper into the dinning services at Albright I jumped at the chance. Probably the most confusing part as a freshman was figuring out the meal plan options.

Albright College requires all of its residential students, with the exception of those who live in the on campus Albright Woods Apartments, to participate in a meal plan. There are three meal plans that on-campus students can choose from. The Albright Gold 20 plan costs $3,800 per year and allows the student to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner six days a week and also includes brunch and dinner on Sundays. The Silver 14 Flex plan costs 3,350 per year and includes any 14 meals per week. The Bronze 10 Flex plan costs $2,600 per year and includes any 10 meals per week. There is also Apartment and Commuter Flex plan that costs $1,850 per year and include any seven meals per week, the Commuter and Apartment 5 plan which costs $1,200 per year and includes only five meals per week. I spoke to Steve Amore, Director of food services and asked about how Albright differs from other institutions when it comes to food services, “we self operated to maintain high quality and high standards.” Steve mentioned that the food service makes it a point to make sure that the food is fresh for students, “we provide fresh poultry that is brought from facilities 50 miles from the college.” Albright tries to offer its students with a variety of meal options and also provides them with fresh and healthy food options. Albright also has a special bonus dollars program that comes with each meal plan and varies in amount depending on the meal plan. Students can use this money in the dining hall, at Jakes Place, Jakes Java, or the Café at Schumo.
The dining hall offers students a wide range of food choices. There are many sections within the dining hall that students can choose from during breakfast, lunch and dinner. My favorite place is the salad bar. During lunch and dinner there is a full salad bar with different dressings and salad toppings. Included in the salad bar area there is also a large selection of fresh and organic fruits. In previous years the fruits were all mixed together in one tray, “we found out from one of the surveys that students wanted their fruit separate,” said Steve Amore about what led to the change in the fruit selection. Now the pineapples, cantaloupes and strawberries are kept in separate trays to be of more convenience to the students. Some of the other sections in the dining hall are, Aprons, which includes more home style cooking. Little slice of Italy, during lunch functions as a pizza bar and during dinner a pasta bar. The change of pace station changes every day during lunch and dinner. The sandwich bar contains all types of lunch meats and bread during lunch and strictly peanut butter and jelly during dinner. The newest spots in the dining hall, the vegetarian and the stir fry sections offer a new perspective on food.

Since my freshman year the quality, freshness and taste of the food in the dining hall has made a noticeable and dramatic change. So do not fall into the trap of the laxative rumor like I did freshman year, and feel free to enjoy the food in the dining hall like I and many other students do.


Also be sure to check out the audio podcast, Food, Glorious Food! which includes interviews with food service administrators, and an Albright student.