Food for Thought: WSUV Students Reflect on Campus Food Options

As prices continue to rise across the country, food scarcity is a great concern to WSUV students. While the campus café and vending machines are available at almost every school hour, selections such as food trucks and the food pantry are limited in their hours. 

“The items are too expensive,” WSUV student, Keira, spoke about the current food trucks available on campus. She added that it is especially difficult to fund purchases when working for minimum wage.  

The limited operational hours also add to the lack of accessibility, since they are often closed by the end of the school day. 

Regarding the campus café, another WSUV student, Chelsea, thinks “the quality is worse… A lot of times, students buy food and it’s moldy.” 

When considering the previous cafeteria that was student-run and provided students with access to hot meals, Chelsea believes “they take jobs away from students.” With a fully automated system for checkout, cashier jobs are not available at the current café, and most items do not have a price listed until they have been scanned. 

Another option is The Cougar Food Pantry, which has been successful since its inception. Although they attempt to keep a wide variety of products on the shelves, there are items that they lack.  

Breanna, a Cougar Pantry employee, said that fresh produce has been a major category that they’ve been unable to find, as well as cooking oil and hygiene products such as floss, toothpaste, and soap. 

According to a brochure proudly hung on the wall, there has been an 115% increase in use of the pantry compared to Fall of 2025. The dramatic rise in demand has called for a much larger inventory of products. 

When asked about the pantry’s product list, Breanna said, “we try to supply everything. We offer vegetables, milk, eggs, and we try to offer ingredients to make meals.” She said this approach helps keep costs low and allows them to offer a wider variety of food to students.  

While the current selection is limited for those with dietary restrictions, the staff members are consistently looking for suggestions for low-priced alternatives.