This editorial was originally published in Vol. 34, Issue 6 (March 2024)
The hunt for a decent lunch on campus is by now a years-long strain bordering on an institutional stain: WSU Vancouver students still have no choice but to bring their own lunches or settle for the self-serve Cafe, a mini-mart with brightly-lit refrigerated cases offering prepackaged sandwiches whose prices are hidden until bar code scanning at checkout.
This is unacceptable at a commuter university to which students travel miles to park and attend classes, events and clubs, often spending hours on campus in a single day. WSU Vancouver students share an unmet need: access to nutritious, varied and affordable food. The independently- run Cafe is not the answer.
Make no mistake—we are not here to whine. We propose the following: that the nutritional needs of commuting students be met, just as their other needs are met fully at the library, computer-equipped labs and modern classroom spaces throughout campus. WSU Vancouver must immediately reimagine its food service to fully support its students by the Fall 2024 term.
Associated Students of WSU Vancouver gathered nearly 400 signatures on a petition to host food trucks on campus in October 2022, a clear indication that students wanted more than what the Cafe offered. But food trucks are not the point now—the university lacks the drains and hookups to host them, and the profitability of operating here remains an open question. That leaves students, many of them parked on campus for the day, wanting fresh, varied dining options that are simply unavailable at the Cafe.
Again: WSU Vancouver is a commuter campus. It is unfair, not to mention inefficient, to expect unsatisfied students to find the time, money or desire in between classes to travel off campus to get hot, fresh food. We are forced to settle with the Cafe, whose exclusively prepackaged offerings also leave unaddressed the needs of those with a variety of allergies and dietary restrictions. While institutional comparisons are too easy and even unfair, students do not have to look far before wondering about the food circumstance at nearby Clark College in downtown Vancouver, with its food court, student restaurant, retail bakery and coffee lounge.
Burdensome, and indeed insulting, is that the Cafe’s packaged food items bear no price until read by a bar code scanner at checkout, another signal that students, many of us on a tight budget, are not the priority. The absence of price tags forces some surprised students to return items they cannot or do not wish to pay for.
The Cafe is owned and operated by Canteen Vending Services. While the business invites customer feedback on its website—there are no employees available on site at the Cafe—the responsibility of defining and meeting the needs of students lies not with Canteen Vending Services but entirely with the university.
The Cafe has a long history here. In August 2021, WSU Vancouver entered into a contract with Crave Fresh Markets, since acquired by Canteen Vending Services, for a 3-year term ending this July. This is precisely the right moment for the university to reconsider how to serve a better lunch to WSU Vancouver’s commuting students. Fresh, affordable food should not be an out-of-reach dream.
The above editorial reflects the institutional opinion of the VanCougar’s leadership: Midori Davis, editor-in-chief; and Mercedes Rowland, managing editor.